Mistakes Are Sometimes A Good Thing
by midnight wildfire
Summary: When a sleep deprived Marinette mistakes Adrien for Chat Noir in class, things get a whole lot more complicated. Will they figure out who they are? Or are they too wrapped up in each other to notice. I know the chapters are really short at the beginning, i will make them longer and better worded eventually. Rated T for possible later themes.
1. I'll only sleep for 5 minutes

My first Miraculous Ladybug fic, Be gentle with me, and let me know if I get something horribly wrong, other than that enjoy! ~ **Midnight**

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The day could have started better, Marinette thought as she trudged up the steps towards school.

She yawned widely, taking a moment to stretch out when she reached the top before entering the main doors. Alya had kept her up all night on Skype with the new ladybug gossip and theories so she was absolutely dead tired.  
It wasn't as if she minded discussing it, she actually found it quite amusing (and abstractly terrifying) how obsessed Alya had become with ladybug, but she didnt see the need to talk about it for _**9 solid hours.**_

When she had finally gotten into bed to sleep, finally joining Tikki who had curled up on her pillow just shy of the 2 hour mark, her alarm was already blaring. She muttered to herself as she moved slowly down the hallway towards class, something along the lines of 'never again' and 'next time I am turning off my computer and phone' before pushing the doorway open and climbing to her desk on the second step up in the lecture hall.  
She slid into her seat unceremoniously dumping her bag on the ground next to it, wincing slightly when she heard a slight squeak of annoyance from the bag. She'd forgotten Tikki was in there.

Crossing her arms on the table and resting her head on them, she looked at the board to find out what they would be doing today, despite her sluggish pace she was actually early to the lesson for once and it would not start for the next few minutes.  
She read over the information briefly. It appeared today would be maths, a faint groan worked its way past her lips. Not her forte. Unless is was measurements for any of her designs she tried to go nowhere near math. Well, if nothing else, she was starting the day on a lesson that she could easily stay awake for or sleep through and understand it exactly the same as when it started either way. Bonus.

She moved her head so that it was cradled in her arms on the table, closing her eyes briefly, determined to get a few extra minutes sleep before the class actually started. Alya would wake her up before she needed to do anything when she got there so she would be fine for now she thought as she drifted into a light sleep.


	2. A Dream Of Cats In Paris

The beginning of a good dream? Shame it wont last long enough for anything to happen, but it will cause problems all the same ~ **Midnight**

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Bounding over the rooftops towards the Eiffel tower, ladybug pushed herself to see how fast she could go, she had needed some air and decided that the easiest and most fun way to do so was go for a late night run in all her spotted red glory.  
It was easy as Ladybug to swing from rooftop to rooftop without a care in the world, testing out the range of her physical enhancement. Trying new tricks and somersaults between buildings.  
She stopped on a rooftop looking towards the famous tower, walking to the edge and taking a seat, dangling her feet out over the thin air over the pavement below. It truly was a beautiful sight, the masterpiece of Paris in the twilight glow.

"Nice night for a stroll My Lady?" she suppressed a groan as she turned her head slightly towards the cat boy leaning up against the doorway to the roof not far away, she had no way of knowing how long he had been there.

"What's it to you kitty cat?" He chuckled, making his way over to sit beside her on the ledge, looking over the edge as he did, one eyebrow raised.

"You know, you could choose a safer spot to sit" He suggested, sitting down regardless, one leg on the roof and one as hers was over the edge, facing her. "Could be dangerous here you know, strong gust of wind and all that" She laughed slightly at that one, thinking about it only briefly.

"Ah but with all my good luck, is that likely to happen to me?" She smiled a bit, turning back to look at the tower. "Besides, you'd catch me" She caught sight of a briefly surprised expression before a deep laugh resounded in the silence.

"Yeah, I would, doesn't mean you shouldn't do it in the first place" he grinned, obviously joking with her."What would I do without My Lady if she fell?" She felt something tap her shoulder and looked back at him, seeing he hadn't moved and shrugged it off, smiling and replying.

"Guess the black cat would just have to deal with the akuma himself" Something shook her shoulder slightly again and the image in front of her swam slightly before returning. She frowned a bit, before going back to him, his mouth moving but no sound coming out.  
The shaking happened again and this time when her vision swam a blurry image of the classroom appeared. Realizing what was happening, she smiled again sadly as she remembered falling asleep before class. Alya must have been trying to wake her.  
For another minute ladybug stayed looking towards the beautifully idilic eiffel tower beside Chat Noir before deciding to fully wake up, groggily opening her eyes as the night dissolved, and Marinette rose from the remains of her dream


	3. Waking up in a daze

Oops, the misunderstanding and confusion starts. Come on Marinette, you have to admit he looks a lot like Chat ~ **Midnight**

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She lifted her head waiting for her vision to settle again, taking a look around vaguely noticing the full class, the teacher already in front of the board. She turned to the left to thank Alya for waking her up, only to blearily look into the face of the person in the next seat over, registering the blond hair and green eyes, hand still on her shoulder, but not much else, she smiled sleepily rubbing her eyes and facing the front of the class again. Brain still not working quite right from her, dare she say it, cat nap. Mind still half in the dream where she was talking to Chat Noir and now half in reality.

"Thanks for waking me kitty cat" The hand that was being removed from her shoulder froze midair on its way back to its owner making Marinette pause for a second, taking a moment to rub the sleep from her eyes, starting to speak before she fully turned to face them again.  
"You OK Chat? you look like you've seen a-" She froze completely, looking into the face of Adrien Agreste, her long time crush and possibly love of her life, who currently seemed to be looking at her with something akin to absolute shock, hand still stuck out in front of him. She immediately turned red from top to toes, stumbling and stuttering over a hasty apology.

"O-omg im so so s-sorry, I think I was- yeah there was a d-dream and- I just g-got confused and omg im really sorry" She immediately buried her head again in embarrassment this time rather than sleep, her profuse apology finally shaking the boy from his surprise, he smiled at her slightly, looking a little bit relieved and shaking his head as if ridding himself of a ridiculous thought.

"Its OK Marinette, really I was just surprised is all. I didnt mean to interrupt your dreaming but I didnt want you to miss the lesson, the teacher moved Alya to my normal seat because she apparently distracts you too much" he chuckled a bit, the sound very familiar, upset-tingly like the Chat Noir in the dream before he continued "You sound like you are on good terms with a hero" he looked amused. Like he knew some great secret. She flushed even redder than her ladybug outfit. Reaching up to rub the back of her head nervously.

"ye- w-well er no ive never m-met him honestly t-truly he seems coo- alright, but a bit f-flirty?" He frowned, studying her face intensely for a moment and tilting his head slightly.

"He only flirts with ladybug though" she could kick herself getting into this conversation. She really did not want this conversation. How do you explain to someone who you cant even look at or talk to without panicking that ladybug likes someone else so it doesn't matter, that ladybug likes the guy she is trying to explain it to. And that as long as he is around in all his perfection that Chat didn't stand a chance.  
She just shrugged minutely instead, in a gesture meant to indicate that she had no idea without having to open her mouth and embarrass herself again and turned to the board, determined to do the maths already making its way down the board and filling it. She couldn't help adding something though, now not so nervous because she is facing a completely different way.

"Maybe she already likes someone else though" She mumbled, starting on the first equation and blocking the rest of the world out before he could ask her to explain.


	4. Familiar Response and Unfamiliar Feeling

Back again by... 3 demands? I really appreciate the amazing reviews, and so soon after I uploaded it! Here is the new chapter, this time from Adrien's point of view! Enjoy~ **Midnight**

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He looked at her long and hard when she turned back to the board and started blatantly ignoring his existence.

It had come as a very nasty surprise when she had woken up referring to him as Chat Noir, like her and the cat boy hero hung out all the time. He could understand that she was still half asleep, but something about the _ **familiarity**_ of her response was just so unnerving somehow, like she had done it hundreds of times before. Granted he had done the same sort of thing for ladybug a few times now, when they have finished fighting and have gone to rest on a roof somewhere for a few minutes afterwards she quite often started falling asleep actually, it was adorable.

He knew that Marinette had never talked to Chat Noir, he would have remembered that, and she had never been an akuma. He sighed slightly and turned himself forward as well, tearing his eyes away, still occasionally throwing curious glances her way. What really bothered him though was her final comment rather than anything else, because it wasn't like she knew his identity or anything she had just been sleep addled. No her final comment about ladybug liking someone else really hit home.  
He had never even considered the possibility that she might have a crush like his, but on somebody else entirely.

It made him horrendously sad in any number of ways.

Had he been making her uncomfortable all this time? Had she not wanting to say anything about her love life just so that he didnt feel hurt at all? of course there was no guarantee that what Marinette had said was true, but now the thought was in his head he couldn't rid himself of it.

He glanced at her again. Marinette was similar to ladybug in a lot of ways, same hair, shape, movement. But her personality was completely different, much too shy and withdrawn to compare to the confidence that ladybug exuded from every pore.

He smiled slightly remembering the hat competition with Chloe, she had her moments when she shone as bright as the sun, she hadn't even stuttered back then when talking to him and the group of judges. Smugly showing them the thread design and completely throwing Chloe under the bus. If he hadn't already been in love with ladybug, he'd have fallen for her right there and then, he thought. That confidence was exactly what she was missing in everyday life.

He shook his head, absently writing down the answer to number five, she may be similar but she would never come close to holding his heart as long as ladybug was around. He resolved himself to asking about her love life next time they met up on patrol.  
He knew that they don't talk about their personal lives with each other despite being very good friends, but surely that wouldn't be an issue with this one right? Its not as if they would know each other in their daytime life anyway, he definitely would have recognized her.

With a determined expression and a faint grin that would have set Marinette swooning if she wasn't so busy ignoring him, he buckled down to finish the rest of the maths questions, thinking about all the excuses he could use when he would talk to her to know these details as he went along.


	5. Maths Is Just As Bad As Gym

So after 8 reviews and well over 1000 views, here is the next chapter! The activity they are doing is a variation of an obstacle course that my old school used to do every christmas in the same way, ive even used the same equipment we carried around, only we had to do all three~ **Midnight**

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The next few hours were uneventful, from maths it moved onto english and then geography. It appeared from Alya's obvious disgruntlement from the seat in front that the new arrangement was at least semi-permanent. Although she didnt know why she would be so upset, especially with the massive crush the girl harbored for Nino. Her and Adrien didnt talk again throughout the entire time, although he kept looking up as if ready to ask her a question only to think better of it.  
As soon as class finished, Marinette was off like a rocket in order to avoid talking to him again and embarrassing herself even further. Or as fast as she could through the crowd of other students making their way to the door, silently berating herself when she realized she had left Alya behind in the dust, her friend would know something was up now. But she still couldn't believe she had mistaken Adrien for Chat, they were sooo different in every way.

Well, she pondered, finally making it to her locker to swap her main school supplies for gym clothes, they weren't all that different descriptively. They both had piercing green eyes and a lithe and tall body, and they both had blonde hair, although Adrien's was a always little messier than Chats somehow. But the personality was way off. Where Chat flirted non-stop and made terrible puns, OK not that bad but still, Adrien was more reserved, gentle and hard working.

She vaguely wondered how Chat would get on in her classes, giggling to herself when she imagined him having an impromptu catnap on the back desk instead of working.  
She quickly changed into her black sweats and fitted red shirt determined to be the first one in to warm up and let off excess steam before the actual teaching started. Funny how a damn near heart attack from such a simple mistake can give you such an adrenaline rush that you are still itching to let it go 3 hours later.  
At least gym was separated by gender in this school, much less awkward and difficult when the object of your affections and the cause of said heart attack isn't watching you when the teacher 'randomly' select you to demonstrate. Again.

Honestly it wasn't as if the rest of the class couldn't demonstrate, but now that she was Ladybug, her agility and flexibility knew no bounds. Making her the perfect example just waiting to be used. And unfortunately the teacher had realized this months ago.

She sighed as she finished lacing her trainers before going over to the door and pushing it open, and when she saw the other side she could have screamed or cried. It appeared that the hall had been set up as an obstacle course of sorts, all the gymnastic beams were out, along with the vaulting and the horses, even a small climbing wall.  
That wasn't too bad, but one glance towards the other side of the hall confirmed today's worst scenario. The girls gym teacher was talking to another. The boys were coming in for this lesson.

She did not need Adrien to see her mess this up too. Twice in one day was too much.

She felt a rough shove as Chloe walked past into the room, smirking back towards her with an air of self-centered assurance that she was better than everybody else in the room. Bitch. Marinette would do anything just to put her in her place, she almost had once when Nino turned into the bubbler and she'd seen her dancing with Adrien after arriving as ladybug. She'd actually said "her Adrien". The whole thing made her cringe that much more. Not the right day to remember that.

Suddenly her vision was filled with fading tipped brown hair as her best friend swung her around to face her, she could tell by her expression that she wanted an explanation. And she wanted it now. Thinking about it fairly quickly, she realized that she couldn't tell Alya what had happened in great detail. There were a few things she was just too smart to miss, like how she responded when she thought it was Chat Noir for one, for someone who claims to have never met him it was an awfully familiar sounding response. And she absolutely could not mention the brief ladybug love life philosophy she had thrown in there on the spur of the moment.

"What was that all abou-" Luckily, or unluckily depending on your angle, the teacher blew the whistle to get their attention before she could even finish her sentence. She stared at Marinette with obvious irritation, mouthing a silent 'later' before going over to sit on the benches at the far side of the hall.

A quick scan of the people gathered during the minor interaction confirmed what she had already assumed, Nino and Adrien were already at the forefront of the group surrounded by the remaining boys. None of which looked all too impressed to be there to be honest. Gym wasn't really anybody's favorite subject.

Sighing and resigning herself to sinking even further in Adrien's opinion of her, Marinette made her way over to Alya who was sitting a little behind the two boys that held their affection and sat down waiting for the inevitable. One of the teachers stood in front of them smiling and gestured behind her to the make shift obstacle course.

"As you can see, today's lesson is a little bit different. This is our yearly obstacle course and has all of the equipment that we have taught you about over term, your task is as small groups of two to make it around all of the obstacles, and each time you make a round you will have something to take with you of your choice" She grinned in what she assumed was meant to be encouraging, but was much more sadistic than that. The other teacher stepped forward to explain.

"The first time around will be on your own with nothing to carry or hinder you apart from your own talent, each round will be timed and will start as soon as the first person steps onto the mats and stops as soon as you both finish" The joint class made a non-committal noise, assuming it wasn't so bad. A smirk crossed his face before he moved onto the next explanation.  
"The second trip around you will have a selection of what to take with you both" He gestured to the wall beside them where a group of objects were lined up. Skipping ropes, large weighted medicine balls that they'd normally use for exercise and some form of small wooden...step? with handles? upside down? The first teacher resumed the explanation of how each was going to be used.

"Each object and also your partner will be given to you depending on how fast your time is on the first run, I wont say which will be given to what speed to avoid people aiming for one specific object. The small wooden pommel has to be carried between the two of you around the course and is not allowed to be placed on the floor at any point, the medicine ball has to be carried by one of the two of you and exchanged at every obstacle, you may throw it to each other if you wish but if you drop it you must start again. The skipping rope shall be tied around the wrist of each person permanently joining you together as you go around the course and you must re-start if it comes undone. Once you are finished your times with be added to a score board and the fastest times shall be dismissed from class first"

Oh good god she hoped that she wasn't going to be paired with Chloe for this one, maybe someone slightly more athletic like Alix...? She would have to wait and see, there was no way the teacher would pair her with Alya anyway, they had two very different athletic abilities and distracted each other too much to do well, and she wanted to leave as soon as possible. It did make her wonder if this was an intentionally mean task to weed out the slower students. She knew what would happen next.

"Marinette, you are up first" It seemed like all she was doing today was sighing, groaning and panicking. Getting up off of the bench, she stepped towards the mat trying not to think about Adrien because _**omg he is right behind me watching me do this**_ and waited for the teacher to give the signal, and then she was off over the course at the speed of light.


	6. Together We Stand Hand In Hand

Back again with the new chapter, sorry it took so long I have a bit of a cold and work is mad. Who knew an opticians would be so busy. So weve made it up to 16 reviews! And who am I to disappoint? Enjoy another Adrien POV ~ **Midnight**

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He couldn't believe his eyes. Shy Marinette. 'I stumbled over my own feet whilst talking to you' Marinette, Was whizzing around the makeshift obstacle course faster than humanly possible, weaving in and out of the wall frame like the wind through trees, launching on the spring boards onto the vault boxes like a cat , Climbing the gymnastic bars like they posed absolutely no challenge even at the ridiculous angles and heights they had been set to, and she might as well have skipped the balance beams and linked ladders as they were obviously no problem for her whatsoever either.

There was the confidence he was looking for earlier. Shining brightly from her strangely contrasting grim yet determined face.

It was his first time ever seeing her in an athletic environment, and shamefully he had pinned her as a rather clumsy girl (he didnt know that this was only around him specifically), but glancing around at the rest of the room, he took note that whilst the boys were all vaguely slack jawed and unable to tear their eyes away, the girls were pretty much ignoring it, having obviously witnessed this many a time before.

Especially Chloe, who was sat on her phone and occasionally throwing angry glances at her as she flew around the room. He'd seen the exchange minutes earlier when he had been coming out of the boys changing rooms and he really couldn't figure out why she disliked her so much.

How did she get such fluid movement? Did she take some sort of gymnastics class outside of school? Don't get him wrong, he knew that this was perfectly feasible to do as he himself would make light work of the course that wasn't even really going to present much of a challenge to the rest of the class either. But that came with his frequent trips out over rooftops as a cat themed hero, not something a timid fashion designer who lived above a bakery would partake in. He had to admit that besides now sitting beside her and before in front in class, and that she is the daughter of a very well known and popular baker, he didnt know very much about her at all. It made her almost as mysterious to him as his lady. Not quite but almost. He knew absolutely nothing about his lady.

That also bothered him quite a bit to be honest, but whatever she wanted him to know or not know was fine by him, so he wasn't about to pry.

He wanted to know more about both. First he wanted to ask Ladybug about her love life, little steps with ladybug or she was bound to block him again, and now in the space of less than 5 hours he really wanted to befriend Marinette and find out who she was as a person. He had no idea how to do either task.

Throughout this little derailing of his thoughts, his eyes continued to follow Marinette around the floor, following her every twist and turn, more than likely an atrociously dopey smile displaying on his face. And suddenly she was finished. landing on the ending map gracefully, a small smile gracing her petite features. Followed quickly by a deep blush as she caught his eye, suddenly back to the fumbling and the 'please don't look at me or i'll faint' behavior he was much more accustomed to.

"4 minutes 32 seconds, congratulations Marinette, you have beaten the previous record of 7:58" The girls teacher beamed at her before turning to the rest of the group. "Marinette has now officially thrown down the gauntlet on this task, I expect each of you to try your hardest but most of all to enjoy this, it isn't a punishment. Now for the next person" She scanned the group, almost immediately focusing on Chloe on her phone and frowned. Obviously not one to buy into the whole 'daughter of the mayor' crap that she spews. "Chloe, your turn next."

Sabrina had to poke Chloe to get her to react, she was now so engrossed in whatever was on the phone. A brief glimpse at the screen showed a fairly expensive ladybug replica yo-yo, and the thought that Chloe was possibly even more obsessed with Ladybug than he was made him shiver. She passed her phone to Sabrina and got up, flicking her hair with the same self-importance she had earlier whilst antagonizing Marinette before strolling over to the starting mat. The teacher rolled her eyes and blew the whistle.

And thus began the most embarrassing mockery of gym class that any of them had ever witnessed. She was off of the equipment more than on it and nobody really wanted to watch,and when she finally finished on a time of 15:23 everybody was relieved. It then became a rather slow lesson as they kept getting called up, nobody following the two extremes set by the first two girls and mostly averaging out about 9 minutes.

When it was his turn, he watched as all of the eyes in class turned to him getting up off of the bench, trying not to be too self-conscious about it as it was Chat that was the confident showman not him, and launched himself at the course with as much as could could gather. He vaguely felt a little sorry for Marinette, because he was sure that his extra curricular crime fighting and cat-like properties would give him the edge, that her new record was about to be broken, but he grinned and continued anyway. Time to show the class just what he was made of.

It felt like time had stopped as he raced around all of the obstacles and equipment, there really was much more to do than he had thought, and by the time his feet touched back down on the mat again he was confident. He turned to the teacher throwing them a questioning glance for his time. How many seconds would the difference be? On another thought, what would the difference be between him and his lady? now that would be an interesting match.

"4 minutes and... 33 seconds. 1 second difference. Bad luck Adrien, Marinette gets to keep her record time. Next person!"

He froze briefly before making his way back to the bench beside Nino. Who was already waiting to pat him on the back. Whispering so that he didnt draw the teachers attention.

"I knew you could do it Adrien, and to beat the old record as well!" Adrien shook his head, now absently gazing at the side of Marinette's head with both intrigue and a little bit of wonder. She must be in complete peak condition to go toe to toe with him on something like this. Responding to Nino offhandedly whilst lost in thought.

"yeah, but Marinette still keeps the actual record..." Nino frowned at this, also turning his head to look at her slightly.

"I know... that was the shock of the century. Never knew she had it in her. Does she do some sort of gymnastics outside of school or something...?" Adrien removed his gaze from the girl who was suddenly aware of his stare as she turned to face him unintentionally, focusing his attention on Nino.

"You mean you don't know how she got that good or...?" He shook his head and shrugged.

"Like I said, probably gymnastics. I cant imagine that the bakery is 100% healthy eating so she must do something to keep in shape I suppose" He nodded in response. It did make some sense that she wouldn't just be designing clothes 24/7 like he had originally thought. She was surprising, in more ways than one.

After that they had all finished their individual runs, the class looked at the board that their times had all been written on. It was all fairly average, and each was wondering how the pairing were going to be split. The teachers soon got everybody's attention again for the reveal.

"now, as this lesson although as a piece of fun for you all, is to identify those who may need help with the class, your pairs shall be the person below you on the list. Marinette who is at the top of the list pairs with Adrien in second. Alix in third place pairs with Kim and so on. This ensures that as your times are similar, neither of you holds the other partner back." The whole class seemed to be silent, staring at the board with abstract horror as they slowly figured out who the rest of them would be paired with. A quick glance to the side showed Marinette red in the face, just about looking ready for what he thought might be the second or third threatened heart attack today.

The prospect of being paired with her made him grin slightly. It should be very interesting indeed. The teacher cleared his throat to regain their attention.

"The way that we will divide the equipment is that the top third will have the skipping ropes tied around their wrists, the middle third shall receive the medicine balls, and the final third carries the small pommel horses" Sighs of relief were hear from those in the final third, save for the indignant huff that emanated from Chloe. They could put the horses down on the equipment just not the floor. The rest of the group looked at the balls and ropes with apprehension.

"We will move from the top of the board downward, so if Marinette and Adrien please step forward, you will help each other tie your wrists together and you will start the course" Adrien stood up full of confidence and just a bit happy about the arrangement. Someone that could keep up with Chat Noir was a rare and wonderful thing. But Marinette it seemed needed a soft shove from Alya to get herself moving.

He lost a little of his smile seeing that. Did she really not wished to be paired with him that much? She was very red, and not looking his way at all as she made her way to the front of the room, simply extending her left wrist towards him. Still astutely not facing him.

He picked up a rope from the basket beside him, red with black handles of course, and laced it around her wrist in a firm but not tight knot that wouldn't hurt her wrist. She looked down at her wrist for a moment with what he assumed to be a slightly bewildered expression before he placed the other end of the rope in her hand and offered his own wrist. It was only then that she looked up at him before quickly doing the same for him. That quick look was enough for him to realize why she was so red though.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was blushing. Blushing about being tied to him or working with him in general, or maybe even because of this morning he didnt know. He wanted her to feel comfortable though. he thought for a moment before he lowered his voice enough just for her to hear it, smirking widely.

"You ready to show Chloe how this is done?"

She looked up at him with a mixture of surprise and slight admiration, before a slow smile spread over her features. A smile that really, at some angles may have been a smirk. and she nodded slightly.

"Oh absolutely"

They turned together then, thoughts now matching up, and faced the course, giving each other a nod before they sprang as one.

Some might have called it beautiful.

They way the two of them wove around it so wondrously in sync, like they had been practicing together for months for this one final performance.

Some might have called it scary.

The way they seemed to attack the course so fast that they spent no longer than a few seconds on each equipment.

Where one person needed the tied hand to move on, the other quickly and without prompting filled the gap with their own free hand, their faces forming large and happy grins slowly throughout as they let go and had fun with it, but still giving it all they had, not ones to lose. it felt like it all happened all at once and at the same time spread over an eternity. Adrien couldn't believe how well they worked together, and he could see the walls Marinette had somehow built around him breaking in her mind as they moved practically as one being. She even let him hold onto her for swinging on the rope obstacle Tarzan style, it being the best way to get across. And they used each other to keep balance on the beams.

And all too soon it was over. They turned to each other and he raised his free hand in a fist at the same time she did so with her own to give a celebratory and obligatory 'mission accomplished' fist bump. Both fairly cocky and filled with adrenaline at this point they actually turned and made a bow towards the remaining students, all slack jawed and staring. The teachers both looking at them with amazement. One of them eventually moving his mouth enough to tell them their time.

"Well, individually you managed 4:32 and 4:33, but together you... I'm surprised to say actually managed to beat that by a very small margin. 4:29. You saved each other about 4 seconds." They both looked at each other in shock and surprise.

Working with her actually made him... better at this? he understood that with them helping each other out over it might have shaved off time, but he would never have thought Marinette of all people would be able to pull it off. Even after he watched her do it faster than ladybug probably could. It was still a tough thought to process. At least she was no longer looking at him like the most embarrassing thing she had ever seen. That was good.

"You two can go, I can tell you that nobody else will even come close to that time so you win by default, go and get changed and have an early lunch" They removed the rope and headed towards their respective changing rooms, individually going past Chloe to flaunt their success, maturely. Really, is it his fault that he laughed so hard when Marinette stuck her tongue out at her? He made the executive decision that he would find her after changing. See if they could have lunch together.

He was all for breaking barriers, and some were just destined to crumble.


	7. The place I call My Own Is Yours Now

Thank you for all the reviews guys! I could never continue doing this without that support and im glad to receive constructive ones too, I will be going back and making the first few chapters longer and more well rounded at some point when I have the time. I literally wrote them at stupid-o'clock in the morning so I know they aren't great. I'm feeling much better and raring to go so without further ado, here is the next and longest chapter yet ~ **Midnight**

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 **What. The. Hell. Just. Happened.**

Marinette entered the girls changing rooms in a mild state of shock, overlayed and mixed with joy, confusion and possibly a little bit of bliss. That was such a weird gym lesson.  
First she'd caught Adrien staring at her after her run on the obstacle course like she'd become the most interesting thing on the planet, then she had watched him with unmistakable awe as he moved fluidly and almost with... well... **feline** agility, around the same course, coming one second behind her. 1 second! No wonder she had such a massive infatuation with him.  
So athletic that he was one step behind a masked hero that practically flew around Paris! Only Chat could keep up with her like that.

What really threw her was the joint run though. The way they moved together, like they had done this a million and one times. Rehearsed to the point of perfection. Predicting each others movements and moving to accommodate them in order to move faster. The way her body fit perfectly into his when they used the rope to swing- no! stop thinking about that! she blushed deeply, kicking off her shoes and changing the rest of her clothes in a daze. He had a nice body. Definitely.

She thought about what he had said before they'd started, about showing Chloe, that was when she started to loosen up a bit instead of being a blushing timid mess. Her extreme dislike of the girl momentarily overpowering her embarrassment from the morning and driving her shamefully large competitive side made her much more comfortable around Adrien for those few minutes.  
He'd even laughed when she'd flaunted her success in, admittedly, a rather childish way. That laugh did very weird things to her stomach and brain.

Shoving all of her clothes into her bag as she went, Marinette headed over to the exit on her way to eat lunch, maybe even use the extra time to create a new design and distract herself a little bit. Opening the door and turning toward the direction of the courtyard behind the school, completely lost in thought, found her smacking straight into something firm and fairly warm. Something which held onto her tightly as her body decided to rebound on a course for the floor, good luck be damned. Something that was as of five minutes ago, a very familiar shape that would always be imprinted on her memory.

She almost didnt want to look up at the one who had been both the problem and the savior too. Their grip still firm on her as if she might fall over again and, given who it was, she might do it just on principle. Faint on the spot.

"Are you okay Marinette?" the voice laced with concern and just a little guilt forced her hand, or rather her head, to turn and look at them. Looking up into big emerald green eyes tinged with worry and... amusement? She sorted through her brain for a minute desperately searching for that new found confidence he'd given her only a short while ago. She found a small fragment of it, tiny, but just enough.  
She was still hyper aware of his arms and chest supporting her weight so she stood back on her feet properly, straightening up as much as she could in his hold. He soon looked down and realized what he was doing, carefully removing his arms and making sure she was steady before taking a step back. "Sorry about that"

She smiled a little, whilst she was terrified she'd say something stupid, he was worried about invading her personal space. It calmed her down considerably to see. Enough to talk straight anyway.

"I'm fine, Thanks for catching me" she smiled and he rubbed the back of his head guiltily.

"Well it was my fault you almost ended up on the floor in the first place so..." he grinned, offering a hand to her jokingly. "call it even?"

She moved her hand towards his and he took it with a slight bow and kissed it, grinning spectacularly and winked, **_actually winked,_** before straightening again. A giggle managed to escape before she could help it, he was acting like a dork.

Adrien Agreste, fashion model extraordinaire, coolest kid in school, butter wouldn't melt, was being a complete dork. In front of her.  
Her luck powers must be in full throttle effect to be able to witness this. She relaxed even further. Just today she had gotten so many random glimpses of an Adrien she had never seen before and it was both weird and amazing. She nodded, blushing from the kiss on the hand.

"Even"

He smiled more sincerely for a second before seemingly remembering something, he looked down at her putting his hands in his pockets, rocking back slightly on his heels almost nervously.

"You know I actually came over to wait for you" He chuckled slightly to himself.  
"Although I didnt expect to literally bump into you" She stared at him for a few seconds as if wondering if she had heard him wrong. Looking for...her? what could he possibly need from her? how could she have possibly gone from unable to say anything without stuttering to having a sort of normal conversation.  
What the crap is going on today.

Having received no indication that she had even heard what he had said, let alone understood it, he continued quickly looking off to one side as if wondering whether it was a good idea to begin with.

"I er- just wondered if you'd like to spend our extended lunch time together" he looked back at her when she made a small squeak of both delight and horror, the blush forming on her face making a nice backdrop for the round 'O' shape her mouth was now making. He seemed to consider her for a second, a small smirk making its way from one corner of his mouth. The word **familiar** flashed through her mind when she saw that smirk very quickly before it was gone and he was talking again.  
"After all, we worked so well together in that lesson and ive never seen someone beat me for speed even if only by a second, I was wondering what else we would we had in common"

She was going to faint, or say something stupid, or make veeeeery weird noises of confusion. Maybe she would do all three. Again, just on principle, she was sure this wouldn't be as much of an issue for her if it was Nino or Max or one of the other guys asking. But this was Adrien, possible love of her life 'i have multiple of your modelling shots as my computer wallpaper' Adrien, 'I have your schedule on a drop down display in my room' Adrien.  
Instead of any sort of verbal response in which she could make a complete ass of herself, she settled for a nod.

The smile coming off of that boy did the same strange things to her stomach that his laugh did. She was seeing a lot of his smiles today.

He extended a hand towards her, inclining slightly as if going for another bow.

"I have the perfect place, if you would like to follow me"

Nodding felt like the response she should stick to, as it seemed to work well the first time. This wasn't like gym where he managed to get a reaction by bringing up her dislike of Chloe. here was nothing here to make her confident. Just him. In all his wondrous glory. So she nodded again moving to place her hand in his where he had offered. That god damn smile got even wider and he straightened, grasping it gently but firmly, just like he had when she had walked into him what felt like a decade ago, even if it had only been a minute or two at most.

"Lets go then, I think you'll like it"

And that was that, suddenly she was being slowly pulled from the spot she was stuck to until he had managed to coax her into a proper walk and then they were off, out of the front door of the school and round to the side of the building, past the windows of a few classrooms that looked still to be in session, and reached a small area near the back corner of the school that was obviously unused, and absolutely covered greenery.  
Surrounded in buildings there was a small group of trees that seemed to have interwoven in the tiny space. He led her over to the trees and let go of her hand, to which she immediately felt the loss, before gesturing for her to follow him still. Then he disappeared.

Just like that. Gone. She looked at the spot he had been for a second completely confused, then looked around briefly as if it was some sort of joke, but then she heard something coming from the group of trees themselves.

"Just walk over here Marinette, you'll see" She took the advice of his floating voice and once she was there, she saw a small opening in the branches that had sewn themselves together so thoroughly. Taking the chance that this was where he had gone, she climbed in, and was immediately struck still by the sight.

The way that the trees had joined at the branches created a tight canopy of wood that still had enough gaps to let the light in that was filtering through the leaves on the outside, giving some absolutely stunning natural and faintly green lighting.  
The roots on the bottom climbing over each other and weaving just as the branches had created a fairly even flooring that was joined by a much thicker root on the other side that was flattened on the top and looked remarkably like a seating area. Mother nature had worked hard on this little paradise. And within this, sat on the larger flattened root in a patch where the branches weren't quite so tight letting the light filter through a bit more giving him a hazy golden halo, was Adrien.

He looked like an angel.

He looked almost worried about her reaction having not seen her move at all since she set foot in this little haven he seemed to have found himself. Scratching the back of his head in a nervous or embarrassed fashion.

"Soo... what do you think?" His words spurred her into action, and before he could say anything else and instead of straight out responding she was already reaching into her bag for her sketch book, intent on capturing the moment in a design of some sort. Shades of green and where they would go on an outfit interwoven with strips of brown leather made to look like wooden colors, no longer thinking that it was Adrien and that she had the biggest most ridiculous crush on him.  
She sat herself on the floor next to the root, leaning against it with her book resting on her legs.

"Its... Its absolutely gorgeous, the different sections of lighting, all those different tones... How did you find this place?" She had started sketching already whilst talking. Those few seconds had already given her the time to roughly sketch two human shapes, one male and one female.  
She was listening out for his response as she did so, genuinely intrigued. He seemed to relax a little bit as she obviously liked the place, crossing his legs where he was sat and looking over her shoulder to inspect the extremely rapidly coming together design.

"Id like to say something cool and mysterious about it, like secret directions I found in the school or something, but the truth is when I joined the school before I made friends with Nino I used to wander around a lot, this is just where I ended up one day. I come here a lot now, mostly when Nino is busy to be honest, its nicer just to have to myself" She looked up to question that, why would he show her if that was the case? but came face to face with him hovering over her shoulder with the critical eye that only the son of a famous fashion designer could attain. And for the second, or maybe even third or forth time that day found herself staring into his eyes.  
That lucky green shade she never thought she would see so much of, and in such close quarters. Remembering the first time she had gazed into them this morning after waking up, she thought possibly her luck was working even then. That was the _cat_ alyst for today. One dream and one mistaken identity is what sparked all of this.

They remained looking at each other for a few seconds before she realized what she was doing and very quickly whipped her head back down to the paper, pretending to inspect the makeshift design she would work more on later whilst actually screaming on the inside and trying not to fall into utter stupidity. She was starting to revert back to her usual 'Adrien is talking either scream or babble' code of conduct. He must have noticed her change in demeanor because he quickly found a subject to get her talking to him again.

"Those designs are absolutely brilliant by the way, you really have an eye for that kind of thing" He gestured to the sketchbook, smiling slightly. "Do you mind if I have a look?"

He wanted... to look at...her designs? Wait, he thought they were good? She might as well die and go to heaven. There was a lot of nodding going on and it was in his hands faster than he could blink. That made him laugh a little, the good laugh that did strange things. She really, really like that laugh.

She brought her knees up and wrapped her legs around them, leaning back on the large root as she watched Adrien flipping through her sketchbook with a look that she thought must be... impressed possibly? And contemplative as well. He looked up at her briefly.

"You know, there isn't a single thing that I can see in here that wouldn't look good on any model you put them on, That takes so much experience Marinette" He looked back down again, flipping the page and a Cheshire grin appeared on his face as he saw the next few pages. "Chat Noir casual? I thought you didnt like Chat Noir?"

She blushed a bit, shaking her head.

"I-its not that I don't like him, I just said he was a bit flirty" He reminds me of you sometimes to look at too, she thought. How could she not at least like that a little bit. "He has a good physique and black and green are a gorgeous color combination" His grin seemed to get minutely wider with every word. Something in his face told her that she really wanted to know why it was so amusing to him, but the other half reeaally didnt want to know.  
It felt smug. As if she was talking about him instead of a completely different person.

"I'd love to model any of these, they're all brilliant" he had started flipping through the book again and obviously had no idea what that had done to her. Her heart had stopped. Skipped a beat as she imagined him in the black clothes with all those green extras. It would really set off his eyes, accentuate his... um... lines.  
 _And make him look even more like Chat._  
She shook herself to get rid of that thought. And it only got worse when he flipped the page again. The Ladybug casual. Where she had quite obviously drawn herself as the model. Well, it made sense. She WAS Ladybug. But Adrien didnt know that, it must look so weird to him.  
She could see the grin fade and replace itself with vague confusion, the kind of face somebody gets when they have noticed something, but are unsure what it is.

"These are... Is that you?" He looked up at her, waiting for her to respond, and was met with yet another meek nod. He looked back down again. "It looks... You really suit these outfits you know?" He was blinking almost stupidly at the page, and she really wished she knew what he was thinking at that point, but he soon changed, the small grin coming back.  
"The offer will continue to stand by the way, about me modelling some of these, but I have **_got_** to see you in a Ladybug casual outfit"

She froze first. Staring at him as if he had turned insane. Then she spluttered, what he had said registering in her brain. It wasn't long into that that Adrien started to bite his lip instead of laughing, she must look so ridiculous because it was only seconds he was able to contain that laughter. The light sound all around her in moments and her stomach was doing weird things again.

"Don't panic Marinette, it was just a suggestion" He was choking this out between laughs, still slowly flicking through the pages of the sketchbook. It took her a minute to calm down whilst he did so. Slow breathing. That was wholly unexpected. And whilst it was brilliant that he thought she should wear one for him, he _wanted to see her wear one for him,_ and that was absolutely terrifying.

She remained in silence whilst she took her time calming down, watching him flick through the pages absentmindedly, the motion acting as something for her to focus on, and watching his face as he inspected them was always going to be interesting.  
That was until she saw where he was in the book, and suddenly it felt like a bucket of ice washed over her. She wasn't quick enough to process it before he had turned the page, eyes resting on something that she knew he would recognise, and he went stock still.

Silence ensued, and she curled further in on herself, wanting to hide, and waited. Waited for him to react. Waited for him to get angry.

Waited for the end of this perfect moment in time.

* * *

i know the 'super secret place all to ourselves that ive only ever told you about' trope is ridiculously overused and im so sorry but I love it so I used it and I have no regrets, also I might start amping up the references to their secret identites, but as per miraculous fashion, these two are going to be absolutley oblivious ~ **Midnight**


	8. The Road To My Heart Is A Short Ride

dun dun dun? so here is the answer to the cliff hanger I left you all on last chapter. Sorry it took a while, my Granddad died so ive been a bit... yeah...

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new POV, drop me a review to tell me what you think. Those reviews are really keeping me going right now and i wouldn't be as excited to update the new chapter without them. To everyone that has reviewed already, _**Thank you from the depths of my heart**_ ~ **Midnight**

* * *

Adrien looked blankly at the paper for a few minutes, silent both in his mind and outwardly, waiting for what he could see there to register.

Lain out in excruciating detail was a pattern for a particular item of clothing that he would recognize anywhere. The list of colors where she had crossed them out and circled blue, the material, the measurements... everything. On the very edge of the pattern, with an arrow coming off of it saying to do so in a faintly lighter color than the rest so that you only could see it if you knew it was there, was Marinette's signature needle work.

He blindly reached to his side and picked up his bag, pulling it out and bringing the end of the material closer to his face to inspect it. Not surprised when he found the very faint blue writing in the stitching at the end. Marinette. It was just like a smaller version of the stitching on the hat she had made for the competition. He could have cried, or laughed bitterly maybe, he knew his father would never be that nice to him.

He frowned, thinking about the day that he had received this scarf, his birthday, Natalie had come in with it and he tried to remember what she had said. It must have been very last minute. Natalie must have just gotten rid of whatever not Marinette had put on it and used it instead.

Although he couldn't remember what Natalie had said about it, the memory he did think of hit him like a ton of bricks.

The day afterwards he had seen Marinette and Alya outside of school and Marinette had looked so damn happy when she saw him that he thought she might burst. And it completely disappeared once Alya complemented his new scarf and he had gleefully told them both, to Marinette's face, that his dad had gotten it for him. He knew something had been off about her expression when she had watched him go into school. He hadn't liked how her face had changed back then, and now he knew why he felt like the most horrible person in the world.

She must have spent hours on this scarf, hand stitched and cut. To have that attributed to someone else, when that was obviously the reason she had been so happy, must have absolutely crushed her.

To make matters worse, on the next page over there was an incredibly detailed drawing of him wearing the scarf, every angle, every shadow, even different textures for his clothes.

Dated two days after his birthday with her delicate signature in the bottom corner.

The day after she found out that he had no idea the present was hers.

He raised his head to look at Marinette herself in real time, seeing how tight she was curling in on herself, like she was about to disappear or at least was trying to. He didnt want that. She must think he was terrible. And he loved that scarf. No, not loved, still loves.  
It might no longer be a rare gift from his father, but it was warm and soft and he had kept it with him everyday since he got it, not because it was from his father but because it made him feel loved.  
Somebody cared enough to make him something. It had always carried a faint smell of what he would consider a homely aroma, fresh baking from **her home** he realized, even though his home had never smelt like that. He would forever love this scarf, no matter who it had come from originally.

There was only one thing he wanted to know now, one thing that he needed to know.

"Marinette..." He could see her flinch, and that made him pause for a second, what did she think he would do once he found out? he stayed silent for a moment as she raised her eyes to him, just peeking out over her arms. He took that as his go signal. "...Why didn't you tell me?"

He watched her stare at him while he imagined she was finding her words, noting a vague blush.

"You looked so... happy. when you thought it was from your dad I mean. How could... how could I get in the way of that? and besides... I was just happy that you were happy" He sighed. This girl was wholly selfless. He considered what she said.  
He would have been equally happy to have received this scarf from anybody, sure it made him more than a little angry and upset that his father hadn't actually gotten him any birthday present, but it wasn't a massive surprise because he knew that normally he either ordered something expensive that had nothing to do with Adrien or got Natalie to get something.  
He got off of the root bench (as he had started referring to it) and stood up, Marinettes head drooping again as if she thought he was leaving. Really, did she think so little of him...? And he held out his hand towards her to help her off of the floor before she disappeared completely back into herself. This earned him a completely perplexed look from the girl before she complied, gently taking his hand as though he might shatter and allowing herself to be pulled up. Standing before him with her head bowed.

He took the scarf, one end in each hand, and looped it around her before pulling her closer to him and enveloping her in the biggest, most sincere hug he could muster. Something that he never thought he would be doing with her to be honest.  
A lot of those occurrences were happening today.  
She kept surprising him and he then in turn surprised himself with his responses. He stayed quietly hugging her for a little while, allowing himself to enjoy it a little bit to be honest, the way that her body fit perfectly against his that he had noticed back on the rope swing. Shaking his head of the thought as it most definitely wasn't a good idea to fantasize when he was already in love with Ladybug, he lent back looking down at her with a small smile.

"Marinette, if anything like this ever happens again, I want you to tell me. Yes I am upset that it was not a gift from my father, as it means he did not bother this year" She again flinched at that but he stubbornly and quickly plowed on ignoring the empty feeling in his chest when he had said it.  
"But he was the one that taught me that designing something is putting your heart and soul into it and it becomes a little piece of you. I love this scarf and I love it all the more to know that it is one of a kind and made only for me, and to know that you did it from scratch makes me feel like somebody cares, I can see how much you put into this just from that one piece of paper"  
Her eyes were getting wider with each word that came out of his mouth and he had to admit that it was absolutely adorable.  
"Its ironic really, the son of a famous fashion designer has never been given an item of clothing personally designed for him and only him, until a shy girl in his class found out it was his birthday"  
She blushed deeply then, looking away a bit and he chuckled. Breathing in slightly he caught a faint whiff of something that he would recognize anywhere. He grinned then, watching her face as she registered it and seeing the small frown of confusion make itself known.  
"I did wonder why the scarf always smelt of cinnamon and vanilla, I guess I have you to thank for that too" She blinked owlishly at him for a couple of seconds before laughing.

 _Genuinely laughing._

A light laugh that made his heart skip a beat and his brain fog over. He was completely struck dumb by it. Normally Marinette wouldn't be able to string a full sentence together around him, but today, today she was laughing while he still had her trapped partially against him with a scarf. Normally if he got within close proximity to her then she would scream and jump a mile, but today they had more body contact than he had received from anybody excluding Ladybug in years.

It was one hundred percent amazing, wonderful, brilliant and as many other words that he could muster in the moment and he had no idea how to react to it. Here in this little corner of the universe that he called his own, he had tried the roof first but it felt empty and lonely without Ladybug there and his house being a constant and empty reminder of his absentee (and apparently much more neglectful than he had originally thought) father, he felt at home. This was the same feeling he got when he was whizzing around rooftops with his lady. The company mixed with the absolute freedom to express himself without judgement.

She was still laughing when he returned from his dazed state, but it was less powerful now, drifting off as she tried desperately to compose herself. That wasn't working so well he noticed. It looked like she was trying to get some sort of words out still under the euphoria of whatever had made her laugh so hard in the first place.  
She did get there in the end though. The effort made him chuckle.

"You know, if I knew you were this much of a dork, I might not have been so nervous around you" it was his turn to blink. It was like talking to his lady now all over again, she always said he was a dork. What had he done that was so dorky this time...? And was that the reason she was always stuttering around him? She had been nervous about what exactly... his money? previous friendship with Chloe? Fame? It stumped him but he wasn't going to push it because she seemed to have relaxed completely now.  
His brief fl-compliment attempt must have been the icebreak- Ah.  
The flir- complementing her on the smell was him being a dork. Oh who cares actually, it was flirting and he knew it, no need to pretend the intent was different even in his own head. Flirting never harmed anybody and it didnt mean he liked Ladybug any less.  
He got it now though. Thats when his lady always says it, just after he says something flirty. Either that or when he tries to show off and fails miserably due to his bad luck. A single thought crossed by the forefront of his mind.  
 _Careful Adrien, your Chat is showing._  
He laughed a little nervously after that train of thought before moving swiftly onward with a dopey grin.

"I'd love to say you are wrong, but you aren't the only person to point it out so it must be true"

"see? im an excellent judge of character" she stopped briefly, her head tilting to one side as she thought about something, it was actually really cute. His love life or lack thereof, he thought vaguely, was about to take a serious turn in an odd and completely unexpected direction. He waited for her to continue whilst wondering where the hell that had come from and what it meant for his love of Ladybug. This was moving horrendously and wonderfully fast in his brain.

"You know, now that ive seen you like this, I wasn't actually that far off with my mistake this morning" She laughed a little more, obviously finding whatever it was hilarious. "You are so acting like Cha- uh... Like I **_imagine_** Chat Noir would" This made him stop stock still for a second, brain racing. Should he go along with it? Does she know? Has she realized? But something in the way she had said it made him think otherwise, that she was just making a comparison.  
What were actually the chances that he was Chat Noir anyway? well... 100% but she didnt know that.  
He rapidly tried to cover up this momentary panic and decided on option number one. Just go with it. He remembered her sketches of herself as his lady, grinning again.

"If I am the handsome Chat Noir, does that make you the beautiful Ladybug?" There was the flirting again, but if she was going to compare him with his more adventurous side she might as well get the full package. He paused briefly when he felt her body still itself in his arm as he had done moments earlier. Wait. In his arms. Crap. He'd never let go of her. How could he not realize something like that?  
But he couldn't and wouldn't let go as quickly as humanly possible. Why? well because he kinda liked it, but mainly just so that she didnt turn back to being uncomfortable with him again. If he dropped her like a hot potato completely out of the blue then that was a very likely outcome.  
His solution would be to wait for her to notice. Yeah. That sounded like the best plan. Then he could pretend to have blanked it this entire time and keep hold of her for as long as possible.

 _ **God.**_ He really _was_ a dork.

After that brief second of stillness, she became animated again, laughing once more but more controlled this time. A soft giggle. She held up a fist in front of her in a gesture he had both initiated and returned a million times now.  
Inwardly pouting because it meant that despite his admittedly not very well thought out plan that he would have to let go of her now to return it. At least she was less likely to notice this way. Lifting his own hand away from her and letting the other drop inconspicuously to his side holding the scarf, he held his own fist up and they bumped them together.  
The mission accomplished fist bump that he had put in place early on in his partnership with Ladybug. Marinette seemed so much like her in this moment, her confidence higher than he had ever seen her around him made the comparison he had made at the beginning of the day seem completely unfair.

This girl had confidence to spare. Thinking back, she always had been very quick to stand up to Chloe, and Nino had mentioned how sassy she could be. He had just never seen it for himself.

But before him now, there she was. It was stunning.

"Then I guess that makes us partners then, doesn't it Kitty cat?" He couldn't have been any happier with that and laughed softly at the nickname Ladybug always used for him, shrugging nonchalantly and looping the scarf around her neck and wrapping it up. Enjoying the blush that spread on her cheeks as he did so, he responded in kind, using his own name for her in return and taking a swooping bow, maintaining eye contact.

"Whatever you say My Lady." He winked and she laughed again. Oh how that sound reverberated in his ears.

"Alya is going to have a fit if she hears you calling me that" And that was that. For the rest of their extended lunch break they stayed there, the easy banter flowing free and fast, Adrien completely let go of his civilian personas walls as if they had never been there in the first place. He felt the same as when he was suited up, but here he can ask all sorts of questions.  
There was no hiding information from each other to keep a hold on their secret identities like there was with Ladybug, or he should probably refer to her in his head as his number on lady from now on to avoid confusion, because him and Marinette had picked up the extra nicknames like glue. There were attached to them now. Both sides of Adrien now came under the same umbrella.

Whilst it was a little bit concerning how close she was to his second life, he wasn't that worried about it as she would never have the opportunity to find out, really find out.

It wasn't as if they talked about anything specific, just talked, and the time flew past. He learnt that she actually lived above her family's bakery, that all of her best designs were conceived at 4am when she hadn't been able to sleep at all, that although she had tried various perfumes before everything she wore still smelled like fresh baking. That one made him laugh, gesturing to the scarf and mentioning what a good smell it was though. She blushed a lot but never went back into her previous shell either, a nice balance.  
He laughed even harder when she told him that her favorite animal was a cat. Promising her that the next time he saw Chat Noir that her dirty little secret was out. That earned him an eye roll obviously meant to say 'yeah right'. The fact that she had just said this _**to**_ Chat Noir made him laugh even harder, much to her annoyance and confusion.

He couldn't understand her embarrassment when he asked her what her favorite color was only to hear the mumbled answer green. He didnt get it, there wasn't anything embarrassing about liking green. The place they were now was predominately green leaves, his eyes were bright green. It was a nice color, not something to blush about. The blushing only deepened when he told her that his favorite was blue. Well it was the color of Ladybugs eyes specifically, and he couldn't say that. Marinettes too if he looked close enough. That set his own blush off.

They continued on this way right up until they heard the bell ring in the distance, learning these little factoids about one another. And by the time they had started walking back to class, it felt like they had known each other for years. Not the brief moments they had spent together that could only have accumulated to about a day or two of speaking time over the whole school year. Most of which was today.

And when Chloe nearly had a heart attack as they walked into class with her arm looped through his, Marinette wearing the precious scarf that everyone thought his father had made specifically for his birthday -except Alya, he shivered slightly when Marinette told him how angry she had been about it- they both shared a look and burst into laughter before making their way to their desk, her returning the scarf once they had sat down. _Their desk._ All because of a seating change. If the teacher thought Alya distracted Marinette, they were definitely in for a surprise now.

They settled into their chairs, and after a few minutes of gawking from everybody. Literally everybody. Even the teacher. Life resumed as normal.

Well, as normal as it can do when your life has drastically changed in under 24 hours.

They were both in for one hell of a ride. Adrien grinned behind his hand were he lent on it, watching the teacher write on the board, absentmindedly taking notes. He could tell it was going to be worth it.

* * *

So that was probably a bit anticlimactic for a lot of you, expecting something else?, but it really pissed me off that Natalie and Gabriel did that and I really wanted Adrien to know who the scarf really came from.

So peace out ~ **Midnight**


	9. It's a messed up criss-crossed love

So I don't think ive mentioned this before, but this story is not necessarily set alongside any specific episodes, but they will sometimes reference one or two occasionally as incidents or memories or current events only slightly altered. This is just because I could possibly struggle to fit the current scenario into a few of the episodes until certain events happen, and because of the chronology of the show being shown in different orders in different countries. Apologies to those looking for a correlation in canon, it is there but less obvious and im trying to stick to canon best I can.

Longest chapter so far! Enjoy ~ _ **Midnight**_

* * *

The school day ended fairly quickly for Marinette, way too quickly in her opinion. She had gone from the worst morning in history straight into the best day of her life. She was now friends with Adrien. ADRIEN. And he had said her designs were good. And he showed her somewhere only he knew about. And he hugged her and didnt let go until he had to.

That last one was the one that made her go from elated to downright starstruck, cloud nine had nothing on this. Of course he probably forgot he had her in a hug when she started laughing herself silly all over him, but still.  
She glanced to her left towards him packing his bag away and blushed when he caught her staring. He was grinning and winked.

"See something you like My Lady?" She rolled her eyes, trying to hide her blush by looking away again. The obvious answer being yes. Honestly he was actually worse than Chat with the flirting and the puns.  
It was a very weird side to suddenly discover on somebody that up until now she had viewed as the pinnacle of perfection, quiet, kind and handsome. To find out that he made terrible jokes and could flirt like a trooper was ridiculous. Like somebody had taken over his body. She knew it was him though. He probably thought the same of her in some way, seeing as she was finally speaking in sentences rather than, quote unquote 'confused and incoherent Marinette noises'.

She sighed, packing away her things into her own bag and standing up ready to leave. Alya had squealed quite loudly in the middle of lesson when she had heard them talking in the row now behind hers. Adrien had asked to borrow a pencil from 'his lady' and obviously Alya couldn't handle this development. Although Marinette generally wondered why she was handling this so well instead of freaking out.  
Now she knew she was in for it though. It was a good job her phone would be left at home on patrol tonight or she was going to get bombarded.

She walked to the front of the room, her new attachment following suit as the teacher took Alya for a detention due to disruption of the class, and they walked to the entrance together in comfortable silence. They had literally been talking for most of the remaining lessons. It was mad how much they had to say to each other now that particular wall had crumbled.  
It was only once outside that the situation became slightly awkward, him needing to take the car home whilst she was required to walk. Her house was literally a stones throw away anyway so there wasn't much point in transport. He seemed sort of... dare she think... **shy** about whatever he was thinking of saying just then before he went over to it. How adorable could this guy get. The grin that hadn't left his face for hours now no more than a questioning but happy tilt of his lips.

"Did... um... did you want to exchange numbers...? I mean you don't have to or anything..." She stared at him in shock, this time without the poorly disguised affection, before practically ripping her bag open to retrieve her phone, **very** nearly revealing a sleeping Kwami in the process. Immediately opening a new contact option on the small screen and purposefully ignoring the three messages she had already received from an excited, confused and demanding Alya.  
He was instantly laughing again.  
 _ **Good god.**_  
Way to look over eager Marinette.  
Ladybug would never be that uncool.  
He casually retrieved his own phone from his pocket and they quickly exchanged the 10 digits that she never thought would even enter her vicinity. Alya had them and had offered, but it had meant nothing unless he had given them to her himself. She saved his name and after contemplating the screen for a moment, decided to include a small cat emoji after it to honor his new nickname.  
It was stupid yes, but it made her giggle a bit when she looked at her phone all the same.

She had nearly had a coronary when he called her My Lady the first time. The way he said it sounded so familiar. The voice, the lilt to it, the tone. It was like in the middle of the night when she was being awoken on a rooftop after drifting off following an akuma attack. The way he always did, no, the way _**Chat** _ always did. She was terrified that a difference now had to be established in her head because the two of them were waaaaay too similar now.  
There had been a brief element of worrying for her own identity also, but honestly who the hell would peg her as the cool and unflappable hero of Paris when she falls over her own feet 90% of the time and gets even the most simple of sentences muddled.  
Even Alya, super fan and author of an entire blog dedicated to ladybug, who had all the inside scoops and had known her for like a decade, had no idea she was Ladybug. So she was not all that contemplative of the idea.  
Somebody would find out eventually, but the chances that it was Adrien, and that it was this quick, were minimal.

She must have been smiling at the screen like a frigging idiot because as soon as she looked back up towards him she could see him trying to contain his laughter. He was biting those soft lips made for sin and looking like he was going to burst. She raised an eyebrow and poked him in the chest.

"One more peep out of you and you wont get any replies from me kitty" she watched as he choked back the laughter brimming to the edge and bent over slightly sweeping his arms into a mocking bow, a damnable smirk that would have made the devil blush gracing his perfect face.

"As the lady wishes" She shook her head, disbelieving. Oh how quickly things had changed and in such a weird direction, if only her past self could see her now. "I'm busy on Tuesdays and Thursdays anyway, so a message you shall not receive tonight im afraid" She frowned minutely, her mind instantly jumping to the drop down calendar of his schedule she had in her bedroom. Oh dear god she would definitely have to take that down.  
Tuesdays and Thursdays were empty. Did he do something she wasn't aware of or...? But she wasn't going to push it, she was busy on those days as well. Tuesdays and Thursdays were patrolling days for Ladybug so she wasn't likely to reply even if he did text her.

"And as luck would have it so am I, I guess I will not be hearing from you until tomorrow morning in class" He snorted at the mention of luck, straightening up properly to his full height once again, which was a considerable half a foot taller than her at the least. Obviously he thought it wasn't that lucky.

"I will see you tomorrow morning then" The smirk returned "Make sure you actually get some sleep this time, you don't want another repeat of this morning" She blushed deeply and half scowled at him, laughter that brought her heart to a stop each time rang out yet again, for not even the 5th or 6th time today, and he waved goodbye before spinning on his heel and heading off to the car before she could think of a scathing enough response.  
She grumbled a bit before walking in the opposite direction towards the bakery. She would drop off her stuff and start patrol immediately... as soon as she had taken down his schedule anyway. It was easy to slip into contemplation on her short journey home of all the things she had learnt in just one day.

She might still believe that he was the love of her life, but after talking to him on a equal level for most of the day she realized that she had been thinking of somebody that didnt actually really exist.  
Sure he was still kind and gentle, but he wasn't reserved like she had originally thought at all, and he was far from the cool and collected boy that she had been chasing after for months. Adrien made crazy jokes and silly puns on the spot that came out of no-where. A great deal of them cat related she had noticed but that was more likely to be because of his new nickname than anything else. And the way he complimented and flirted with her practically with no limits or foreseeable end.  
The way he tilted his head ever so slightly to one side whilst listening to her talk, and how he never stopped fidgeting or moving until he was 100% comfortable where he was and then wouldn't move in forever.  
She had learnt that he had a very tense relationship with his father and they didnt talk very much, which she knew in passing before but never realized it was quite to this extent. He was also an anime, television and film nerd apparently, which surprised her to no end and she suddenly found herself understanding a lot more of his references than she had before.

She felt a little bit like she had just unlocked millions of hidden features on a game that she previously didnt know had any extra's on it. They aren't written on the box and when you stumble across them its like gaming heaven. Thats what it felt like. Definitely.

Shaking her head and wondering what sort of logic that even was, she raised her hand and pushed open the door to the bakery, immediately engulfed in the cinnamon and vanilla smell she had and always will associate with home. It created a faint blush when she remembered that the scarf she had made still smelt that way after months.  
She had learnt long ago that unless somebody has a particular aversion to it, that this scent was not worth the bother of trying to rid her clothes of. It was delicate and spicy, with warm undertones. And the fact that it impregnated all of her washing no matter what she did probably was another reason. It overpowered anything and everything whether cheap or expensive. She shouldn't complain really, it could be worse. She could live in a cheese shop or something and smell constantly of cheese.  
Camembert for instance.  
Bleugh.

Whilst it wasn't very hectic, she could still see that the shop was busy today with a few customers so she managed to catch her fathers attention whilst he was with somebody, gesturing to herself and then the shop in a silent communication, asking if they needed her help at all. She hoped they didnt or she was going to be late, but it happened occasionally.  
She was quite relieved when he chuckled to himself and quickly and silently made a shoo-ing motion to indicate that they would be alright before turning his attention back to the man in front of the counter. She smiled, giving him a quick thumbs up before dashing off up the stairs to her room on the top floor.

She had always loved the setup of this house, with the bakery on the bottom floor where it was accessible to everybody on the street there was a staircase for their home at the very back of the shop, next to their official front door for the house which she rarely ever used these days. This led upstairs to a small kitchen, she was always told never to use the bakery kitchen for normal food or meals so that it didnt affect the bakes at all that needed to rise or cook in certain conditions.  
The kitchen was attached to a fair sized airy living room with a sofa with a TV, a lovely soft rug and faint pink colors and neutrals on the walls and for furniture. Just enough room for a family night with the three of them or for one or two friends to come round and entertained.

From there next two floors were the two bedrooms. The master bedroom, her parents room, was on the third floor and hers occupied the top floor. Essentially an attic room she had the whole floor to herself and had gone with a fairly similar color scheme to downstairs, sticking more to the pinker side of it. Her favorite part was the terrace she had created for herself at the very top of the house though as it had an excellent view and was always brilliant for fresh air. It wasn't originally an area to relax in, but after a little begging and the installation of a skylight, she had transformed the little area into her very own.  
It helped also that nobody would catch her transforming up here and just swinging away into the night as she did every week now, regardless of actual threats. It was high enough not to be seen from the street with any sort of detail so she could continue her frequent outings without worry or panic.

This was where she was heading now, taking the stairs a few at a time like she had done for... most of her life actually, once she was big enough to skip steps anyway. She reached her own bedroom door (well...hatch anyway, but she thought of it as the door) and entered, Tikki immediately flying from their bag now that they were in private territory.

"Sooooooo. Kitty Cat huh?" She blushed deeply, striding past her to put her bag down onto her desk, fishing today's homework out so that she could do it once she had returned. "I thought only one person had managed to acquire that nickname" Marinette frowned and crossed her arms defensively.

"It just sorta... happened. I don't know... You were there Tikki in my bag. What the hell happened today? Have I been dreaming or something? Did I ever actually wake up this morning?" She stood there for a second before pinching herself as hard as she could. Ouch. Yeah, no. Not a dream. Today actually happened.

"Hey, i'm just as confused as you are Marinette, but you have to admit, he is quite a bit like Chat now that we know a bit more about him" Marinette sighed shaking her head, glancing over to the drop down calendar and feeling vaguely awkward about it now. She would definitely take that down. Later. She was more attached to the modelling photos on her walls though... maybe they could stay.

"He isnt Chat though, and I have to keep that in mind still when I talk to him. I really don't want to accidentally let something slip" Tikki nodded thoughtfully, floating up towards the bed and skylight. "Besides, how could I let slip to Adrien who I really am when in all fairness... I kind of owe that to Chat himself first" She had never seen Tikki's head whip around so fast, its like someone had said that the Queen of England was there. Marinette followed her up, contemplating some scenarios as she went.

"You would really reveal yourself to him at some point?" She thought about it. She had known Chat for months now, even before the school year had actually started, and throughout those months he had done everything he could for her in every way. She still shuddered when thinking about the Timebreaker incident. When she had finished returning everything to normal, her and the other Ladybug had fused and she retained both sets of memories, but his remained blank of the risk he had taken to stop her time being stolen.  
He could have died. _**Died**_.  
She would never let him do that again, she was very much reliant on her partner and as much as she would hate to admit it, they were quite good friends.

They would probably be much better friends if they knew each others identities, but she was holding herself back. He had asked her multiple times whether she would reveal herself and the answer had always been no. So why was she considering it now...? Marinette shook her head to clear it, pushing the skylight open and allowing Tikki to fly through.

"I will probably have to some time, but I don't feel like it would be soon... I'm afraid of the two halves of my life mingling so much." She climbed out onto the terrace, hugging herself tightly and leaned on the rail.  
"In the daytime, im just Marinette, an ordinary girl with an ordinary life. I live here, I go to school, im clumsy as all hell and cannot... or _**could** _ not talk to my crush in more than stuttering 3 word sentences." She smiled sadly at Tikki, turning away to look over the Parisian skyline.  
"Ladybug is so very different. Strong, confident, not afraid to let people know who is boss. She never makes mistakes and things always work out for the best..." It was making her quite sad now, thinking of all the differences between the two. It was like the difference between white and black. Day and night. It felt like there was an all too vast valley between the two personas that only joined themselves by a flimsy bridge in moments like these. Or earlier, when she had finally managed more than that 3 word stuttering with Adrien.

It was a massive leap for her to adopt Ladybug's traits when in her civilian form, because she had never been like that, only wanted to be. The mask gave her the opportunity to let that shine. There were some things that bled through from that other life though, all the little scars she had accumulated after her powers had healed her that she could still find littering her body, they were faint, like the thinnest of silver lines when caught in the light. She found herself tracing one particular one on her left wrist. She had no idea where it had come from, just that it was an injury Ladybug had received. She couldn't imagine how many of them Chat must be covered with. Tikki floated next to her arm, her miniature hand rubbing tiny calming circles into it.

"You are much more like the Ladybug that you turn into than you know Marinette, and I think it would be good for you to realize that" Marinette looked down at her tiny form contemplatively, thousands of years of knowledge, one itty bitty living space. She giggled slightly when she realized that she had inadvertently likened Tikki's brain in her head to the genie and his bottle. Straightening herself up.

"Well, all this behind us, we do actually have some where to be don't we?" A smile spread itself over her lips and it was mirrored on the tiny Kwami and it nodded.

"We should go then"

One quick transformation later and they were already swinging onward and outwards over all of Paris. She need only meet up with Chat afterwards like normal to see if he had found anything on his own patrol and they covered more ground separately, they were each only a call away on their devices anyway.  
Possible akuma victims hanging about, any area that Hawkmoth might be hiding away to create them. But tonight, as it was most nights really, was quite quiet. The world was still and no trouble was arising, her yo-yo didnt alert her to any calls from him, she couldn't find any moth dens or whatever they should call it. They hadn't been able to agree on the name. She was really glad that their transformations only wore off after using her main powers like lucky charm because then they wouldn't get anything done otherwise.

Deciding to finish up, she immediately made her way towards Pont Neuf. The bridge had unintentionally become the regular meeting spot that they used after going on patrol, neither were entirely sure when and why this had been agreed, but it was a lovely area and it was an easy point to finish. The real bonus was La Seine though, the river never failed to relax her after a long day, no matter what stresses had occurred.

She could already see him leaning against the side of the bridge when she arrived, swinging herself gracefully to land beside him. He barely acknowledged the movement, but she could see a smile start to spread across his features.

"Good afternoon My Lady" He turned, sweeping into a dramatic bow, keeping eye contact with her at all times. She observed him thoroughly though, he seemed off somehow. Wrong. His shockingly green eyes seemed to be...troubled? and the smile did not reach his eyes as it normally would.

"Is something troubling you kitty cat?" He seemed to twitch oddly at the nickname, and indeed she herself couldn't help the weird feeling and flash of Adrien's face in her mind. She quickly persevered, jumping up to sit on the wall beside him as he straightened himself up again. Inclining her head to listen to his woes.

"It was just an odd day my lady that's all, a few things happened that I would never have thought" his words didnt have their usual spring to them and seemed more thoughtful than anything else, Marinette knew he wouldn't go any further with his initial explanation unless she asked, it was encroaching on civilian territory and therefor normally made her uncomfortable. "Did you find anything on your half of the patrol?" She shook her head, sweeping her arm in a motion that was meant to indicate the whole of Paris.

"Paris seems to sleep quietly tonight as well." Nothing major had happened over the last few weeks at all, so it really was quiet right now. Not even any akuma had shown up. She looked at him long and hard as he turned to gaze back into the water. He definitely needed to say something, ask something, think about something... she was never entirely sure what it would be. He looked up to her questioningly as she continued to consider him. "So tell me your problems kitty, ive got the time" He blinked, obviously taken aback by how casually she was asking for details on his normal life today when normally she would be running for the hills. A lot of things had changed today. He must have eventually decided she wasn't joking and sighed, looking back down, following a fish with his eyes.

"Ok then... but first, I promised myself I would ask you something" Now it was her turn to stare at him. God she hoped this wouldn't go into dodgy territory. She hoped she could at least answer some of it for him. He really seemed to want to know today. She nodded, giving him the go ahead. He obviously thought he was never going to get that go ahead because he continued to stare stupidly at her before shaking his head.  
"I wanted to know... do you like somebody right now?"

Oh. _**oh**_... He must be upset because he figured she would like somebody else. Which is absolutely true. It was painful to look at him after that and she herself turned her head down to the waters. He was reminding her too much of Adrien as it was, she didnt need to see a repeat of a face discovering unwanted information as she had done with the scarf earlier reply was a quiet whisper on the wind.

"I do"

The reaction she was expecting was sadness. Or displeasure. Or disappointment. Anything but the casual nod of acceptance she did receive. It confused her a great deal, normally he was quite vocal and exuberant with any aspect of hi love life, but not much happened. He just continued on in the same voice as before.

"What are they like?" She sighed, facing out over the river, watching a cyclist on one side until they were out of sight.

"He is kind and gentle, sweet and never assumes anything. Tall and handsome and good at his job. But I recently found out that he has a silly side too, he flirts and makes terrible puns and does funny things just to make you laugh..." She considered him for a moment, smiling and giggled slightly. "He actually reminds me a lot of you in some ways" She heard Chat chuckle a bit as he stood straight running his hand through his hair.

"Aah so I lost out to myself then My Lady?" She didnt answer. There was a small and fragile looking smile on his face and she felt like he was gonna turn around and leave at any second. So Marinette asked the first question that came to mind.

"Do... you you like somebody Chat?" God she should just throw herself backwards off of this bridge right now what if he really was 100% in love with her like he says and she just smashed his feelings into a pulp. She watched his smile falter and his mouth open as if to say something. Then close and he looked like he was thinking deeply about something. He then tried again.

"I...I think I do actually. And I have no idea how it happened" She blinked stupidly before grinning, maybe she shouldn't have worried.

"Why what is going on here... does Chat Noir have a crush on somebody?" He chuckled and shook his head a bit, turning around and leaning his back against the wall, looking up at the darkening sky.

"Not so much a crush I think just yet, I did only start talking to her properly today after all, but it think..." He blushed deeply, biting his lip a little. "I think it might end up that way" He smiled indulgently and laughed a little bit to himself whilst she continued to listen.  
"It is all sorts of ironic you know, you saying that your crush reminds you of me. When my possible one reminds me so much of you" Marinette couldn't help but laugh a little at that one. She joined him in gazing up at the sky, soon it would be dark enough to see the first stars shining through. He sounded like he had seen something truly beautiful and felt guilty about it.

"What is this girl like then, I can tell by your voice that she must be something to behold" He was silent for a little while and she continued watching the sky change color. She wouldn't push the information out of him because he would talk when he was ready, and it wasn't a long wait.

"She's... how can I say it. She isnt somebody that goes out of her way to stand out like other people that I know" He seemed to shudder at that and she wondered who he was thinking about then. Honestly it sounded like someone like Chloe. Ugh. He smiled again afterwards though, moving on.  
"But she can take charge of a situation, She had always seemed rather shy to me until recently, like if I talked to her that she would scream. But in reality she is just as sassy as you are. Absolutely adorable and so very cute. Small in stature but not in personality I guess" Marinette looked back down at him just as he scratched the back of his head nervously, It was odd to see Chat using the same mannerisms as Adrien now that they were so close to each other in her head. But she was grinning like a Cheshire cat on the outside. She couldn't help it, she needed to tease him, it was compulsory.

"It sounds like you are already in love with the girl Kitty Cat" She'd never seen him lost for words before but tonight she'd already seen it twice. It was a nice change of pace and honestly seeing him opening and shutting his mouth like a fish was hilarious. He was blushing so hard now. His tail batting all over the place in agitation.  
Honestly she would never understand the dynamics of his outfit, because it wasn't like the ears and tail were real or anything, they were leather. But they still moved like real ones.

She didnt push his buttons any further though, what she was thinking about was how they had each said that the person they were talking about reminds them of each other. Adrien reminds her of Chat, and whoever it is Chat was talking about reminded him of Ladybug. It was like some weird criss-crossed love square or something Chat liked ladybug and the mystery girl, but Ladybug liked Adrien and... if she thought about how similar the two were, she also like Chat. But damned if she ever told him that. She laughed a little bit, suddenly thinking of the nicknames her and Adrien were using now.

"Maybe we should come up with names for them so that we can talk about them, and not reveal their identities?" He seemed to contemplate that for a second, whilst his blush calmed down. Bless him.

"I think I should go with 'Princess'. I already have My lady so my princess sounds good. And what was it you said earlier about how handsome yours is? I vote you go with 'Handsome Boy'" If she hadn't been blushing so hard then she would have been laughing her ass off.  
The thought of accidentally calling Adrien handsome boy... god it was like a nightmare waiting to happen, especially now that she already called him kitty cat, hell if she got the two confused. She liked it though. And if she ever met Adrien whilst in costume it gave her something to call him then. God forbid she called him kitty cat when she was suited up, he would immediately know who she was. She managed to reply through her internal panic at the thought of that.

"Sounds good Kitty" Another thought crossed her mind then, something that she hadn't thought of before now really. It was out of her mouth before she had any time to process the idea.  
"hey, what if we know each other as civilians and we are actually crushing on each other" He looked genuinely surprised at the observation, closing his eyes in thought.

"Well then I guess that we would know when one of us met the other out of costume." He smirked, gazing up at her where she sat on the wall. "I would love to know that I was Ladybug's Handsome boy" The smirk lessened, turning more into a wistful smile now.  
"Just as I would adore knowing that Ladybug was My Princess." He closed his eyes again and a pang went through her heart. He really did already love this girl, even if he had no idea himself. It made her feel... a little lonely perhaps.  
He had always professed his love for Ladybug as openly as possible and it made her wonder if he would do the same with the princess once he figured it out. If he would forget about her.

"Lets make a deal" His low tones shook her out of her stupid little moping session and she watched as he stepped away from the wall and turned around, offering her a hand to help her down which she took automatically. Gracefully jumping down in front of him.  
"If you meet Handsome boy when you are in costume and call him as such, and it turns out to be me, I will reveal my identity. If I should happen to see Princess, I will do the same. If you happen to be my princess, I shall let you decide whether to tell me or not, with no pressure." He looked so sad when he finished voicing this that she heard her heart start to creak as if it would break. He really wanted to know so badly who she was and he was giving her a free pass should she need it. He would absolutely reveal himself to her but she didnt have to do the same in return.

It made her want to cry. How could she not accept that. Although she would really feel guilty should one of them reveal and the other didnt.

"...Deal."

It was a dangerous game they had started to play here, and if fate had really matched them together that way she had no idea how she would react. It would have been some higher power's idea of a hilarious joke for Adrien to actually be Chat. But hopefully he wasn't, and she would never have to worry about it. Until then, it was time for her to be heading home for food and to do her homework, and thus time to bid her feline friend adieu.

Impulsively she hugged him quickly, the body feeling familiar under her touch, before she left. Leaving him standing there in shock she had to laugh a bit. Her good luck and his bad luck. Which would fate decide would win this scenario. The only way they could know was to find out. And for the second time today as she was swinging back home, she wondered when and how they would reveal each other.

And despite every part of her logical brain screaming that it was a bad idea, spying the first star in the sky as she went. She made a wish with an old rhyme she was taught as a little girl silently in her mind.

 _Star light, Star bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might. Have the wish I wish tonight.  
I wish for both chat and I to get the person of our dreams, no matter who they may be and no matter how long it takes. Whether it is already us, or another person.  
He deserves it._

She felt a little silly as she touched back down on the terrace above her house, but she also felt like it had made a difference. Like her luck would kick in and get him the girl. But who would know until it played out.

All's fair in love and war. And love would always win in the end. But who said it didnt deserve a little extra help.

* * *

And that's that, phew its a lot of writing and im sorry if it doesn't flow quite right. Im not sure how long the next chapter will take, but I hope it wont be too long. I hope you enjoyed this Mari/Ladybug POV ~ _ **Midnight**_


	10. Stray Cats Find Their Own Homes

Another long chapter, I think I might just really like getting into their heads? Another Adrien Adorkable Agreste POV for you all, enjoy I hope? And don't forget to review! It really gives me a confidence boost! For the reviewer who used the name invisibility, my I's are now all in caps like they should be, thank you! ~ _ **Midnight**_

* * *

Adrien rolled over in bed with his pillow covering his head, golden hair spilling in every direction and the alarm beeping mutely at him in the distance muffled by the pillow. He was ignoring it in favor of a dream he wished to return to. One where Ladybug had agreed to a deal that if she was his Princess, Marinette, that she might reveal herself.

His princess. Good god it was such a ridiculously cliche nickname, how his brain had come up with that one... he liked it though. And although it had only been a dream really, he might just stick to using it as his own personal moniker for her. Should he ever meet her out of costume of course. He blushed, remembering how the dream ladybug teased him with the idea that he had already fallen for the girl.  
That sassy, fierce fashion designer that had up until recently sat just one row behind him for months and not uttered more than a sentence in his direction.

It made him laugh now when he remembered how shy he thought she was. Regardless of when she had been trying to talk to him or not, she had always spoken her mind. Especially when Chloe was involved. Every bone in that girl was oozing attitude in different amounts really.  
He chuckled, carelessly removing the pillow from his face and chucking it in the general direction of his alarm trying halfheartedly to shut it up. He'd always had to wake up early due to his life as a fashion model with his fathers different lines of products, so he had gotten into the ridiculous habit of waking up at 6am.  
That didnt mean he liked it mind you. He was after all, a cat by nature, and therefore took any naps and rests that he could.  
He needed all that he could get really, what with patrolling twice a week and night time akuma attacks. Had he seen anything on last nights patrol...? apart from a few couples taking a walk... a cyclist... some fish... he definitely met ladybug he thought because they normally do that...

Oh. **Oh Jesus Christ**.

The speed he sat up nearly snapped his neck, and Plagg, the poor Kwami had been curled up on his bare torso since he had rolled over and was unceremoniously flung across the bed with the speed.

"Oi! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

He could only sit there and stare at the black cat in front of him. Mouth bobbing open and shut like some sort of fish as he tried to comprehend the scenario that had happened last night. **That had actually happened.** ** _Was not a dream._** ** _How could he forget THAT?_**

He had genuinely had a discussion with Ladybug about a developing crush he had, she had genuinely teased him about him already being in love, she had genuinely agreed to the terms of that deal.  
He was tempted just to go around in suit calling everybody princess just in case she happened to be one of them, but he couldn't do that. The blush from earlier made its way back onto his face. He actually really did like Marinette. He couldn't pretend he didnt. Ladybug was absolutely right and he had fallen hard and fast for her in less time than it takes to fly to the other side of the world. He had gone from one love of his life to two in under 24 hours.  
How does that even happen?!

"I take it yesterday is finally sinking through that thick skull of yours" The insult broke him out of his panic a bit, enough to frown and chuck a remaining pillow in his direction. Plagg simply whizzing into the air out of the way before it made contact. He was soon back in his dazed stupor though, going over everything in his head one, two, three times.

"Hey at least you chose a girl so similar to Ladybug anyway. No wonder you fell so fast"

Adrien groaned, falling back onto the bed with his arm resting over his eyes, keeping them shut to the reality of that statement as Plagg sniggered at him in the background. That probably was the reason he had so quickly become interested in Marinette, but her own fire was what fueled him to consider investigating further. He had discovered a whole new side to her and he just wanted to dive headfirst without taking a deep breath and didnt care if he drowned.  
And that was so wildly new a feeling to experience outside of his mask that he had no idea what to make of it.

"I'm doomed..." He muttered this into the crook of his arm as he lay there for a few more minutes just listening to his alarm scream blue murder -no longer muffled by the pillow over his head- before finally sitting up and turning it off properly, sans pillow this time. Swinging his feet off of the bed and grabbing his clothes on the way to the bathroom adjoined to his room. Taking a short shower to freshen up and quickly brushing his teeth after dressing, he picked up his phone with one hand, lazily drying his hair with a towel in the other.  
No new messages eh? Well he guessed it might take her a while to send him anything anyway, she had only just become comfortable enough around him after all. He still couldn't believe that was yesterday and not weeks ago. He smirked slightly, running a brush through his hair absentmindedly.  
Its not like she was exactly a morning person anyway from what he could gather, she was almost always late for first class, and if she wasn't then she was normally half asleep anyway, he was thinking back to when she mentioned to him that all of her best designs were concocted at stupid-o'clock in the morning, if that was how she spends her nights no wonder she is so tired all the time.  
Not that he was much better with his night time activities as he would often go out in full Chat gear even if just to get some fresh air.  
But that was different. He still slept the rest of the time.

He glanced at the time wondering what time she usually woke up, well got out of bed anyway. His clock was still only saying 6:11am and school didnt start until 9 so he literally had over 2 hours to kill. He would forever curse his father for implementing his modelling schedule so regularly early in the morning, at least it had dropped off mostly now that he was actually attending school and not being home-schooled.  
It made him much happier really, yes he loved modelling but it could be so damn exhausting. Pose this way, pose that way. Think of your mother giving you spaghetti. He'd nearly punched the guy at his last shoot when he had said that, did the man not keep up with the news? His mother was long gone.

He sighed, flopping down into the office chair in front of his various computer screens, switching the on button and waiting for his desktop to load. He might as well try the Ladyblog, Alya was known to add things to it at the most random of times. Like live-blogging her own kidnapping for example. Whilst extremely helpful to Chat Noir and Ladybug at the time was not the best idea on her part. He logged in not even needing to think about the password because he did this so often and once it had loaded immediately started scrolling.

Disappointment was all that awaited though, from a post made sometime yesterday it appeared that Alya had been grounded for the moment following a detention in school, her mum had apparently allowed her this one communication with her blog before turning off the WiFi in the house and taking away her phone. He laughed as he read that she had managed a few quickfire texts beforehand though and would be back up and running in a few days, he guessed the texts would be for Marinette. After all he and the little lady were the reason behind her detention.

Marinette, he returned to an earlier thought, expanding on it. He wondered what time she normally started out towards school. She did live virtually next to it anyway so it couldn't be too early, and her zombie state as she enters school occasionally.  
Although from what he gathered from conversations he had heard in the past, the mornings when it looks like she hasn't slept for weeks are normally just after Ladybug and Chat Noir had shown up to fight an akuma and the Ladyblog explodes. The rest of the time she arrived just before class. Marinette had told him how Alya had kept her awake for over 9 hours yesterday morning and he wondered if that was the overwhelming reason.  
Thinking about it, she would probably be up a little earlier to help in the bakery. Any sort of baking and food preparation takes time and its normally better to do it before customers arrive, he wondered if she would be awake right now...? He glanced at the clock again. 6:18am. It had literally only been 7 minutes. He groaned loudly, slumping down into the chair as far as he could without falling off of it.

After slouching there for a moment, thinking about what he could do, a small impish grin spread across his face. Maybe he should go and find out if she was awake for himself? He could just tell the driver that he would be walking to school today under the pretense that his father had decided he should increase his exercise regime -as if basketball and fencing were not enough- It wasn't unheard of and it wasn't like his father would actually check up on it. It was brilliant.

With that decided he damn near sprang out of his chair, sending it rolling away a bit, before grabbing his bag and Kwami and setting off. Plagg was none too pleased to be grabbed out of mid air and shoved in a tight space but a tiny piece of Camembert placated him just enough to stop his complaining.  
He paused by his bedroom door to pick up the scarf, the beautiful scarf that sweet Marinette had made just for him, putting it on and deeply inhaling the cinnamon vanilla scent just as he had done for months now. It had always smelled heavenly and now that he knew why and who also smelled that way it made him blush.

He couldn't believe he had garnered such a liking to her in such a short period of time. Was he really so fickle? He shook his head, clearing the thought. No. It was her extreme similarities to his first love Ladybug that had accelerated his feelings towards the girl, and she was incredibly interesting in his own right. Even his father had complimented her before on her work so he just knew that she was impressive to not only him.  
The thought flitted through his brain that because of this, if he did decide to ask Marinette out, maybe his father might actually somewhat approve? He never approved of anything Adrien did but maybe this new and talented designer could win over the icy heart of his father? He sighed, there were a multitude of problems here. He began listing them off in his head as he walked down the stairs.

 _First_ things first, his father was so cold that nothing short of dropping him in a **volcano** would get him to show emotion or gain any sort of reaction. Adrien walked past Natalie's office careful not to make too much noise, giving her a small wave before continuing to the foyer.  
 _Secondly_ , he was definitely sure that he had no right to fall for Marinette so quickly, and he was sure she would not be best pleased with yet another change in the dynamic between them so soon after the first one. He pushed open the door and left the house stopping by the garage as he went making his excuses to the driver before setting off in the direction of the bakery.  
 _Thirdly_ , he wasn't sure he actually _wanted_ a relationship with Marinette anyway because of his conflicted feelings between her and Ladybug. He knew that Marinette would be the logical choice because there was no lies or secrets there, hell he'd even reveal himself if he needed to, and he could always be with her at school and at home... But ladybug was still his first love, and he wanted all of that with her too. He knew that the likelihood of her revealing her identity to him was slim from the get go and without knowing who she was he couldn't put himself in the position to date her if she accepted him.

It was all a complicated mess.

He shoved his hands in his pockets in a huff, frowning down at the pavement for a minute as he wove his way around buildings and roads towards the best bakery in Paris, and her home. Marinette lived atop the most perfect pastry in France. She was a _precious cupcake_. He snorted very inelegantly at that thought, god he spent way too much time on the internet. As long as he didnt call her a _cinnamon roll_ to her face he figured he would be alright. No need for her to know just exactly how dorky he really was.

It was her window he saw first actually because he had started watching the clouds as he cheered himself. A small round pane of glass between her and rest rest of the world that seemed to be slightly ajar. Maybe she was awake then? He glanced down at his watch, It had taken him about 15 minutes to walk there so it was about 25 minutes to 7 now. Her house and the school really weren't that far away from his house. He grinned spotting her father through the window of the shop preparing to open up soon, and by the time he had made his way to the front of the store Mr Dupain-Cheng was opening it to take the display signs out front. He stopped short for a second, momentarily terrified that this father would be like his own, but he had already been noticed.

"Good morning young man, How can I help?" The large man was towering over him, something in his expression registering to Adrien as amused recognition. Well he was plastered all over Paris so maybe that was it. He smiled, mentally scolding himself. This man had raised the most selfless girl in the god damn world, of course he was going to be kind. He turned his most dashing smile towards the man before responding.

"Good morning, my name is Adrien i'm actually a friend of Marinettes from school...?" He paused briefly wandering how to continue his words but was stopped before he could continue by a raised hand and an amused smile. Really why did the man find his presence here so funny. Did he not brush his hair properly this morning...? Did he have toothpaste on his shirt?

"I know who you are, Adrien Agreste correct?" Adrien nodded gazing up at the man curious as to were this was going. "She had mentioned she befriended you at dinner, did you want to come in? we aren't actually open until 7 but its always a pleasure to have Mari's friends visit" Adrien nodded with a small smile, storing the nickname Mari away for later use and scolding himself for earlier thinking this man might be anything less than the gentle person that his daughter more often than not was. Mr Dupain-Cheng gestured for him to follow, allowing Adrien into the shop and locking the door behind him so that no wayward civilians could come wondering in. He didnt know when he had started thinking of the general populace as civilians. Perhaps when he sprouted ears and a tail for the first time.

They walked through the bakery section to a set of blue stairs at the back of the store and he followed the huge man up them, taking in his surroundings as he went. Baby photos and personal achievements adorning the walls, one particular photo of possibly a three year old Marinette in a pretty pink princess dress made him chuckle a bit. Maybe princess was the right code-name to choose for her after all.

They continued up the stairs and passed a lovely little living room and kitchen and he had to suppress a smirk. It looked like the whole house might be decorated in the same sort of pink Marinette wore, he had no idea why that thought was so funny to him. His eyes lingered just a little longer than necessary on the sofa briefly imagining curling up on it and watching the TV after a long day before heading to bed. He kicked that thought out of his head fairly snappish, like that was going to happen. He paused ready to sit and wait for Marinette to come down and meet him there.

He was slightly confused when Mr. Dupain-Cheng just continued past the room to another set of steps leading up to the next floor, indicating that he should follow. But past that momentary confusion he mentally shrugged, he must have been taking him up to her room. They climbed once again, walking past what he assumed to be her parents bedroom and towards a final set of steps leading up towards a door... or hatch? in the ceiling. He furrowed his brow, looking up towards the humongous man who laughed resting a hand on his shoulder and spoke fairly quietly.

"This is her bedroom door, it was after all originally a loft conversion. And she has been awake for a little while now because I have a large order of cinnamon buns that need to be delivered today, which she helped with" He smiled, turning his head towards the... door, and removed his hand from his shoulder. Adrien wasn't sure why he had spoken in such low tones during his explanation, but his voice had risen now as he called through to her on the other side of it.  
"Marinette? Your friend is here to see you!" He waited for a few seconds, sure that she hadn't heard her father when a muffled reply came from the other side.

"Send her up dad! My hands are just a bit full right now!" Her? Did she think it was Alya coming to see her? It wasn't very likely considering that she was grounded but maybe Marinette didnt read the lady-blog yet. He knew she read it because she always supported Alya in what she did. He opened his mouth to correct the miscommunication but was shushed by her father who shook his head attempting to hide what Adrien deemed to be a rather suspect grin. He obviously wanted this to be a surprise. He nodded.

"Thank you Mr Dupain-Cheng" The man chuckled, making his way back towards the stairs.

"Call me Tom" And that was it, he was gone and Adrien turned back to the door leading to his princesses bedroom and swallowed hard, suddenly nervous. Well, here goes nothing. He climbed the small set of steps and reached out to grab the handle, pushing up and letting the door drop to the floor on the other side, climbing the remaining distance into her room.

Marinette was near the back of the room with her own back turned towards him working on what seemed to be two mannequins of different sizes, he smirked and almost laughed out loud when he saw what was on them. Ladybug and Chat Noir casual outfits. She was taking his comment about the two of them trying them on and running with it, honestly he couldn't be more pleased. He stood there for a moment whilst she finished what she was doing and watched with hilarity as she turned around, already talking.

"Alya I know I haven't texted you back and im sorry but I was a bit busy and I had no idea what to tell you an-" He actually did laugh when he saw the exact moment she registered who she was actually talking to. Her eyes went so comically wide and she made the most ridiculous sounding squeal.

"A-Adrien! I thought.. I mean I, wait, what are you doing here?!" aah it was like a flash back to when she couldn't even talk to him. He did have to admit that this side of her was adorable as well, the side that didnt seem to know what to say to him at all. He smiled half with humor and the other half vaguely apologetic before responding, no way was he gonna admit that he had been thinking about her so much that he had decided coming to see if she was awake in person was the best idea. She didnt need to know that.

"Do I need a reason to come and see you My lady?" She had regained her composure now, straightening up and rolling her eyes at her newly acquired nickname. He was used to that response from Ladybug also, although Marinettes carried the faint trail of a blush and a slight nervousness as he watched her glance over towards the desk for the minutest of seconds. He followed where her eyes had landed in that moment and the grin that split his face when he saw what was there would have made angels swoon.

"Although it seems you don't need me actually here to see me yourself" He chuckled as her eyes went comically wide and she resorted to the beautiful attempt at trying to get her mouth to work, bobbing open like a fish. Over on the wall above her desk appeared to be what looked like about ten or eleven of his modelling photos from recent shoots in various places.  
Maybe she liked him more than he had originally realized, he turned his eyes back to her. Beetroot red and pouting. She was trying her best to explain their presence in the room as he watched with ever growing amusement. This was why Mr Du- Why Tom had been so amused when he recognized him, he must know the pictures were there and decided in his right as a father to embarrass her a little bit. Maybe the man wasn't so kind and innocent as he thought before.

"I er... I hope to be a fashion designer when im older?... so um... I... they are good pose references?" He could have snorted, even from just hearing her talk in class he had realized how bad Marinette was at lying to literally anybody. Her soul is too pure to string any sort of lie together decently and with a good back up plan. He understood somewhat the model excuse, as he used a fair few poses to model the clothes his father had forced him into, but if that was the only reason then she would have more models than just him up there. Maybe he could play along with it though...? He wondered...

"Well if you need, I would be _paw_ sitively delighted to provide the poses myself, how about I start with this?" He gestured to the mostly finished Chat Noir casual outfit smugly, he knew it would look good because her designs were amazing, and he could recognize them from the sketch he had seen the previous day. He could see from its size and shape that she had been working off of a mannequin around the same height and build as he was.

It was a fairly simple design that was intended to look like the kind of smart casual clothes that tended to be popular these days, it was predominately black and consisted of a pair of black skinny jeans that were to be held up by a slightly longer belt than would normally be worn, accompanied by a pitch black tailored dress shirt and a waistcoat with golden buttons down the front lined with a bright harlequin green on the inside. That same green color adorned the tie that appeared to be loosely tied around the neck of the mannequin, offsetting all the black just enough so that it lifted the design.

It was the least complicated of all of her designs that he had seen for style, yet he could see in the way she had stitched the fabric that it was the most technically challenging and it was definitely the most striking of the lot.  
He had to admit in being extremely impressed, he had seen some fashion designers work for days just to put together a simple waistcoat and she had either been working on this one for a little while, or had raced through it with such dexterity and skill that she produced a much better product than those he had seen over night.  
He turned his eyes back towards her, yet again she had taken him by surprise, she would always surprise him it seemed and he hoped that never stopped.

He approached the design, running his hand along the seams and inspecting the joins in the fabric, smiling to himself as he did so and silently admiring every single thing about it. The different materials used were soft to the touch and light weight also, not like the suits he was used to wearing where one quick movement would be their grizzly end.  
A glance to the right showed that the ladybug equivalent was actually only somewhere near completion, pins still dotted the outfit and none of the stitching had been put in to place, he would reserve his judgement on that one until it was finished even if he knew without a doubt that it would be amazing. He turned his eyes back towards her where she was still recovering from the embarrassment he had inflicted on the poor girl, the pretty princess looked like a dear caught in the headlights a minute ago and now she just looked downright mortified.  
She had obviously realized that her lie was not very effective and he decided to put her out of her misery, give her something else to talk about.

"So how long did it take you make this then? Its amazing!" A blush spread across her cheeks faintly and his eyes narrowed, surely she hadn't actually only started this yesterday and worked all night like her father had said.  
"Please say you actually got some sleep like I suggested yesterday" The blush deepened and she started toeing the ground, avoiding his gaze and looking over on the desk at what he assumed to be yesterdays homework that appeared to be untouched.

"I couldn't get to sleep last night because after- I had some stuff to think about and I kind of... thought it would be the best time to start? keep my mind off of stuff you know" She rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "I hadn't really realized how long i'd been doing it until Dad came upstairs looking for help with a baking order..." He sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose like some long suffering housewife does toward a workaholic husband. And it definitely felt that way right this very second despite the very short time they had been well acquainted, does this girl think about her health in any sense? He heard a snort from her direction and opened his eyes to find her covering her mouth with her hand, previous embarrassment gone with the wind.

"God you look so done with me, you'd think I did this to you all the time" At this she couldn't seem to help but start laughing properly, actual tears were forming in her eyes and he just stood there waiting for her to get herself together enough to continue her sentence. It took her a minute, it was exactly like yesterday when she had burst out laughing in his arms. Lord he'd give anything to get her back in that sort of a position of her own free will. Eventually she did stop laughing, wiping a watery eye with one finger and smiling.

"Sorry this just really seems surreal to me. All of this. _Adrien Agreste_ is in my bedroom looking like a harried housewife and scrutinizing my designs. It's a lot to take in" Her hand was almost immediately covering her mouth again as if she really hadn't meant to say it and now it was his turn to laugh, soon setting her off again and they ended up sitting on the chaise lounge next to each other just giggling away. she really couldn't get over him being here? Well he himself had no idea what had started it so it wasn't a stretch to imagine her feelings on the situation.

After a minute or so he flopped down, stretching out behind where she was sitting on the edge of the incredibly stupidly comfortable piece of furniture. All of the tension, surprise and embarrassment that had been floating around since he entered the room was gone in an instant and they were back to being so relaxed around each other that you could have sworn that they had been friends for years.  
He closed his eyes once again, bringing his hands up behind his head to rest on them and snuggling into the pillow there getting as comfortable as he could. He did this sort of thinga lot and was almost certain it was a lasting effect of his more feline qualities, comfortable places are to be occupied and slept on no matter when and where they were. He yawned a bit, but was actually staying awake even if just through sheer determination. He didnt reopen his eyes again though, too much hassle.

"Honestly though Marinette do you ever sleep?" He could hear her huff once again in indignation and felt her prod him in the side, he had to massively resist the urge to purr. Adrien could almost imagine her in front of him crossing her arms with a frown as if offended, the image changed for a second as the same passed through his memory banks, this time covered in red with black spots. Same position and petite frown. He frowned slightly and decided to ignore the similarity, it would do him no good to keep comparing the two of them.

"Like you can talk _Mr 'I've only just arrived and i'm already half asleep on her furniture_ ', do you ever do anything but sleep? I've seen you take short naps in class, you can't fool me" He chuckled, lazily opening one eye to take her in, smugly registering that she was sitting in exactly the pose he had imagined.

"Well _one_ of us _obviously_ has to, I'm sleeping enough for the both of us" She rolled her eyes, giving him a light shove playfully, he opened the other eye and raised an eyebrow at her. A silent challenge. What are you gonna do about it princess? After she obviously decided she was doing nothing he changed tactic. Stretching languidly and returning to a sitting position he glanced over to the design and then back to Marinette, he brought forward an grin that sent a light blush settling over her cheeks again.

"So seeing as you spent all night on this design, is it ready for wearing yet?" She seemed to splutter for a seconds, taken aback by his sudden topic change before carefully considering the design herself as if assessing for any sort of mistakes or adjustments to be made. After a moment she seemed to nod slightly, glancing back at him.

"It is actually, as you can see the Ladybug one isnt really ready for much, but Chat is definitely ready and waiting" He nodded, he had made the same assessment himself earlier about the Ladybug outfit, it would be a while before he saw her wearing that. His grin worked its way into a smirk moving onto the second part of his question.

"Can I try it on now then?" This really did make her lose it, she actually fell off of the chaise lounge in shock and he had to reach forward and grab her before she hit the floor and pulled her back up again, holding her steady against him for the second time in two days until she seemed to regain her brain. He was softly laughing the whole time.  
"Don't panic im not going to strip in front of you or anything, I can change in the bathroom, but I do really want to try it on My Lady" She considered him for a moment, a variety of emotions flickering over her face and he somehow got the impression that she wouldn't have minded where he got changed. He could also see her giving him a quick once over, a look he'd seen many a designer give him in the past when sizing his frame and build up. She nodded, disentangling herself from his arm where he kept it steadying her and walking over to the cupboard, pulling out a pair of black boots his sort of size with silvery gunmetal toe covers on them. He raised his eyebrow again, she really was prepared wasn't she?

"I suppose that you really should Kitty cat, seeing as I made it at your behest after all, even if you were joking or anything at the time" She walked over to him depositing the shoes on his lap before turning around to go over and do the same for the clothes. He lifted them up and turned them over, sure enough there was a paw print shaped sole just like his Chat Noir costume  
"And ive had those shoes for a while thinking I could change them for a design, its not too difficult to alter a shoe" Adrien had seen millions of designers cower at the idea. It was plenty difficult to alter a shoe that quickly, just not for her apparently. No wonder she already had them floating about. She was blushing like mad by the time she returned to him with the clothes and pointed in the direction of the hatch.  
"The bathroom is just past the bottom of the stairs to my bedroom door, go before I decide you don't get to try them on at all"

He laughed again, quickly standing and heading in the direction indicated before she could get all embarrassed again and rescind his model rights, the last he saw of her descending the steps was her flushed face and he could tell by her expression that she regretted it already. He wore a self-satisfied grin all the way to the bathroom which was as indicated and locked the door. He swept his eyes across the modest bathroom, noting the differences to his own back at the mansion. Obviously it was going to be different as this was just a small house compared to the sprawling house he lived in. House because after his mother was gone it would never again feel like home.

No. **This felt like home**. It was warm, cozy, friendly and he felt safe here. Not in the tiny bathroom but in the whole building. It was permeated with familial love and unconditional acceptance that he had missed as a child and now as well.  
He wasn't bombarded with a camera to his face before he entered but met with such wonderful and delicious smells that he was left reeling. He didnt have a terse exchange with a disinterested father about his day or, slightly better, a mildly uninterested Natalie. The living room was small and comfortable, not miles of tile with a sterile feel to it, and everything in the house screamed personal. He would have loved to have been born in this little family instead. He smiled sadly to himself, no, if he had then he would not have felt this way for Marinette. And as brief as it had been, he couldn't imagine what that would be like.  
Maybe he should marry into it instead.

He sighed, turning his attention away from lonely thoughts and a teasing but impossible future of a wife that never slept and fresh baking every morning back to the clothes in his hands. Adrien still couldn't believe that his princess had put them together so fast and with such quality. His hands found a small raised section of embroidery on each garment as he ran his fingers over them. _Marinette_. That small signature that adorned all of his favorite clothing items. Scarf. Hat (Even if he couldn't wear it due to allergies). And now these. It was a shame he couldn't put the whole lot together as an outfit. The colors wouldn't match and he'd be sneezing 100% of the time.

Placing the clothes on a small shelf next to him he started taking his own clothes off, noticing how he always did in the mirror the millions of tiny scars that he had accumulated over the last few months. He was sure that they were so obvious the first time he had seen them, how could nobody noticed all of those silvery lines, but he quickly learnt that he must only be able to pinpoint them because he knew they were there. Proof of his battles alongside his first lady. He had pointed one out on his hand to Nino a little while ago and the boy had only just been able to see the thing.  
He shook his head, he really shouldn't have a problem with the fact that nobody else noticed them. The longer they were kept a secret from his father, the longer he could continue being free. He had no doubt that Gabriel Agreste would be able to cease any sort of cat related activity no matter whether directly or indirectly.

Once he was standing in his boxers and socks -the boxers had print saying ' **Cats are in right meow'** right across his backside- he turned to the pile of clothing. Time to see if it would fit. . He had his suspicions about it, but he was betting they would fit him very well, and he was right. Finishing dressing and patting himself down, every single piece of cloth fitted in the right place, every item was comfortable, perfection. It was like she had taken a million and one measurements before making it, exact to his body. Tailored simply for him.

A perfect fit made by the perfect designer, the perfect girl that accepted him even when he was acting like a complete dork, not the pristine son of a fashion mogul.

And right then, right there. That was when he decided that he wanted in. He wanted to stay.

The stray cat had found himself a home.

* * *

Oh dear Marinette, you've been cat chosen.  
The cat chooses the owner, miss Dupain-Cheng.  
And it is just beginning.

Sorry for how long it took me to get the chapter up, im feeling better now but I am still having trouble with thinking so please forgive me! ~ _ **Midnight**_


	11. A Chatton's New Clothes

So here is chapter 11! I really didnt expect the number of responses you gave me for chapter 10 and im so grateful! Also i'd just like to apologize for my phrasing on certain things and the descriptions and for the chapter taking so long, im still ill and Christmas depressed me because I lost two grandparents last year, so I wasn't up to writing at all.

Past that, thank you for all your reviews! Keep them coming, I love reading what you thought about these two dorks interactions and I look for inspiration sometimes from them as well! Happy reading~ _**Midnight**_

* * *

She had no idea how she had gotten into this situation. No idea at all. Marinette sighed, sitting back down on the chaise lounge and putting her face in her hands and shaking it disbelievingly completely unable to comprehend the last few hours... hell the last few days of her life. First she mistakes Adrien for her kitty cat, then they both end up becoming friends and then the deal she made last night... Why had she agreed to that deal god what if she really did know him in real life and it wasn't Adrien? She would end up breaking his heart as ladybug, and then on top of that he might end up crushing on her in civilian form and have his heart broken then too. And now. Now Adrien had shown up at her house hours before any normal human would be awake for school and wanted to try on her designs. Did he normally just do as he pleased? She thought that he was driven to school most days so why was he here right now. In her bathroom. Her bathroom. Stripping.

It was all a ridiculous mess, and she could feel that it was only going to get much more confusing as it developed.

She lifted her head away from her hands, absently wondering what he would look like in the design she had given him, he was probably the closest to Chat that she would be able to find physically to try it on and the design actually used a few features from his suit as well, so it was going to be interesting to see the similarities between the two of them. Not that she really needed to have any more to compare between them, she already had plenty as it was. And now this Handsome Boy thing. Handsome boy. Really. What if she accidentally called him that. She would absolutely die of embarrassment. It would be worse than calling him Chat again.

Marinette glanced over to the door to her room, hearing nothing from beyond it. He was really taking his sweet time changing, had he found something interesting in the bathroom or something? Or maybe he didnt actually fit into the clothes and he was trying to sort it out without bothering her, she had made it from scratch without taking any sort of measurement other than the ones published in a magazine she had bought after all. There had been an article in it about the various designs Gabriel Agreste made for him to wear on the catwalk -Catwalk, really, just another cat reference for her to deal with- and typically what measurement he used for them. Of course she had taken the liberty of shortening or lengthening a few measurements based on what she had seen of Adrien himself, it seemed like he had grown even just slightly since the article came out. Thinking over all the designs she had seen him in on covers of magazines and posters all over Paris she had a small panic. What if he didnt actually like the design? What if he was being polite? What if he thought the craftsmanship was terrible?

Her inner panic attack was cut off by the sound of the bathroom door shutting from below and slow footsteps approaching the steps, a second later a soft blonde halo attached to a stupidly handsome face popped back up through the hole with a dopey grin that she would normally associate with a certain cat plastered across his face.

"Are you ready to see the fruits of your labor My Lady?" She gathered her wits again, rolling her eyes at him and screaming on the inside. This god damned dork was going to be the death of her even if just because she was overthinking absolutely everything, her eyes darted up to the bed where Tikki had dived when they had heard her dad shouting up to her, just to double check that she wouldn't be seen even if she knew that she wouldn't. She turned her eyes onto the expectant model partially in her bedroom and nodded, moving her arm out in a wide sweep to include the whole room and leaning back on the chaise lounge.

"Give it your best shot Mr. Model extraordinaire" She giggled a little bit when that caused him to blush ever so slightly and his body started moving upwards slowly to reveal her design and she almost squealed with delight and wonder. It fit. It fit perfectly. Both in size and shape, and also in style. The material hugged his form almost giving the appearance of Chats skin tight bodysuit, but looking much more obviously clothed. The belt, which she had made much shorter than Chats ridiculous length one so it stopped about mid thigh, dangling behind him making a swishing motion as he climbed the last of the steps and started to walk towards her, throwing a few poses in as he went. She laughed, smiling as he did so and snorting inelegantly when a pose that he used definitely wasn't model material, the usain bolt pose for example. He continued this way until he was right in front of her, where he did a very dramatic bow, grinning as he went, before standing up straight again. He looked like Chat though. There was absolutely no denying it when he was stood before her in such clothing with his devilish smirk and that perfect body of his. All that was missing really was a domino mask and those stupidly cute ears that always appeared on his head. That and the hair, which wasn't quite parted right at the moment to 100% resemble him.

He smiled down at her, bending slightly at the waist so that he was more at her eye level than towering above, his eyes seemed to twinkle with mirth and she knew that she must look absolutely starstruck in this moment, she hadn't really talked since he came in after all just laughed, and her eyes had been completely glued to his tall and slightly muscly figure as it shifted in the fabrics she had spent most of the night combining. If only he could do this for her all the time.

"Earth to Marinette?" She jumped, snapping quickly out of her poorly disguised idol worship that she had unintentionally been putting on display **yet again** , blushing deeply and averting her eyes from his deep green ones still crinkled around the edges with an almost undetected laughter. She tried to cover it a little bit by leaning back on both arms onto the seat and looking him up and down as if giving the outfit an appraisal whilst actually admiring the way the curve of his body filled it. Giving him an approving nod once she was finished.

"You'll do" He actually laughed this time, straightening up again before turning and sitting on the chaise lounge next to her, completely relaxed and looking very much **at home**. He had looked this way earlier too when he had stretched himself across the same piece of furniture like a pampered cat and she had been sure he was about to actually fall asleep. Its something that she wanted to see all the time, she wanted to come downstairs and see him stretched out on the sofa watching the TV snuggled in a blanket she had made, She wanted to come home and find him wandering around the kitchen as if it was his just looking for a snack. She wanted to wake up and find him snuggled beside her where he fell asleep the night before after a full afternoon of fencing or something. The lazy smile that spread over his face right now as he flopped down spreading himself once again over the chaise lounge as he did earlier that would be imprinted on her brain until she died. He was talking now, so she need to be paying attention though, not imagining such an impossible future with a husband that's always sleeping somewhere and making stupid -yet admittedly funny- puns.

"I think im in love" Wait- WHAT. The look on his face changed dramatically from sleepily content to sheepish shock as if he had just realized what he said, sitting up quickly and flailing his arms a little averting his eyes from her blushing and spluttering mess of a face. "Not what I meant! The design! With the design!" They both took a second to relax a little, although he was still avoiding her gaze a bit and a small blush had covered his own cheeks. He pushed on regardless gesturing down to the outfit and obviously focusing his attention on it, she followed his sweeping gesture with her eyes.

"I've never worn something so comfortable yet stylish at the same time, its really like a second skin" He paused briefly long enough to glance back up towards her as if he was terrified he had said something he shouldn't have done, but visibly relaxed after a second, obviously finding nothing to be concerned about. Exhaling he continued, looking to be a bit more confident in himself now whilst Marinette silently wished that he would have been saying that about her instead of her designs, even if it was a ridiculous notion for someone who had only been talking to her for less than a day now "Out of all of the designers that have gotten me to model their designs, yours if by far the best" He seemed to have a sort of internal debate going on that was oh so obvious on his face, the way a small crease appeared between his eyebrows that she juuuuust wanted to run her thumb over gently to smooth it out again so that it wasn't marring his perfect face. Instead she pressed the matter a bit, now relaxed enough to retain her earlier comfort in conversation with him.

"You seem to be doubting that a little bit Adrien, I can see it" He looked away a bit more, the crease diving further into his forehead and the temptation to smooth it out intensified, to make all of his problems go away in one fell swoop of a motion.

"Its not that im doubting it...Its just that I feel like this is so much more- how do I say it..." He closed his eyes, leaning back on his hands so that his face was towards the ceiling and she left him to silent contemplation, only a few minutes passing before he opened his eyes again, turning to face her with a sincere yet sad smile, the kind that would make angels cry.

"You remember what I said to you yesterday about how a design is a piece of your soul?" She nodded, that conversation had given her both a heart attack and a massive confidence boost when it happened, and she wasn't going to forget it any time soon. His smile widened fractionally and he continued. "Well the same goes for the person that you design the clothes for"

Marinette was confused, and it must have shown on her face because he let out a small chuckle before elaborating further for her.

"When you design something for somebody, you take an aspect of that person to help your design along correct? Make it fit the... 'model' i'll call it for the time being" She nodded again, of course? didnt every designer? He chuckled again "I thought so, what my meaning was originally is that this-" He gestured once again to the clothes. "-Is as much a part of me as it is a part of you. It fits beautifully and makes certain aspects on me stand out and define them, and far from the cold clinical feeling I get when modelling for anybody else, a stock model for a stock outfit, these are warm and personal"

She could have cried with joy but also with unending despair, he really felt that way about this? Did he even enjoy modelling at all if this was the way he viewed what they made him wear? She game him a searching look, as f trying to find some sort of a falsehood in what he had said and found absolutely none, his face shone with honesty and it was heartbreaking. She offered him a smile that was both full of gratitude for the compliment and with sympathy at the same time.

"Well... If you want to..." He seemed to perk up at her voice, like a cat who hears lunch being served. Face transforming at once from sadly amused to curious as to what she was going to say. It made her giggle a bit and gave her the final push that she needed to say the rest. "You only need to ask and i'll make you something, but would you mind being a model for any other designs I might make in the future...? You could even keep that one if you like" He seemed to be blinking, processing what she had said slowly, but soon the grin that split his face could have outshone the sun and he was suddenly hugging her again and she was flat out on the chaise lounge in a light state of surprise. This was very reminiscent of yesterday when he had scooped her up in the scarf, only this time she wasn't panicking, this time she just wrapped her arms around him in return and waited for a response, she felt that he possibly needed this a little bit more than he let on.

"Of _**Course** I _ I will, any time, any place, you call me and i'll be there, and I will enjoy every second of it" He paused, grin turning more towards the smirk that was now growing to be a familiarity on his face."You know what will be my favorite part though?" She raised an eyebrow in question, waiting to find out and he chuckled again "Whatever you make me or get me to try on, its always going to smell like cinnamon and vanilla"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, exasperated, well at least he wasn't making any puns, that would have completely ruined the moment. She took the chance to throw her eyes over to the clock on her desk noting the time to be saying 8:29 and looked back down at him where he appeared to have settled quite comfortably into the hug. Jesus he really was like an over-sized cat, she half expected him to start purring any second and had no idea why she wasn't **_freaking the fuck out_** about all of this, but by this point she was possibly starting to become a little bit numb to it. There is only so much surprise a girl can take after all. They both needed to head into school, and if they were to leave with any sort of time to spare he had to go and get changed again any minute now. She sighed internally, desperately not wanting to move at any point. Forever. But sitting up anyway she nudged him off, a giggle escaping her lips when he actually pouted at the loss of contact.

"Come on you big kitten, if we are going to get into school on time you are going to have to change back into your normal clothes now" She frowned when the smirk resettled itself onto his face and he began shaking his head, crossing his legs.

"Why, I'm 100% ready to leave for school, whatever are you talking about Mari?" She blushed at the shortening of her name, but frowned all the same, surely he couldn't be thinking...? He seemed to read her thoughts and nodded, running a hand through his perfectly gelled yet extremely soft hair.

"I think my current attire is perfect for today actually, it gives me a little bit on an understated flair that I would love to show off" All she could do was stare at him for a minute, just trying to gauge if he was serious or not as he picked an imaginary piece of dirt off of his shoulder, the picture of innocence, but by the way he was talking it looked like that was the case. Adrien Agreste wanted to wear her design to school. _Adrien Agreste wanted to wear her design where there were real people. **In public.**_ She really ought to be hyperventilating and stuttering and making ridiculous arm gestures in an attempt to talk about dissuading him, but something about the idea made her smirk as much as he was, and she was sure he might be thinking the same thing.

"But what if dear old Chloe happened to find out I made it, she would practically be seething" He raised a falsely thoughtful hand to his chin, looking off into the distance pretending to think about it and she couldn't help but let a giggle escape at the obvious drama to it.

"Ah could we really do that to her poor, delicate, kind and hardworking soul" Marinette snorted, knowing perfectly well that he knew none of those things were true and her eyes followed him as he stood up and picked up his bag, coming to stand next to her and offering his arm for her to take. "What do you think buginette? Do you think she can handle it?" She picked her own bag up, blushing at the new bug related nickname and trying not to think about the reaction of the rest of the class, just the hilarity that would be Chloe's face.

"I think we will just have to wait and see, wont we kitten?" He chuckled, running his other hand through his hair again and smiling in what looked like a semi nervous fashion. Perhaps he was actually worried about her reaction a little after all, she nudged him on though.

"Come on then, lets go before you lose your nerve, if I have to face Alya then you have to follow through your own plan" He spluttered and did look vaguely offended, but she just decided to un-loop her arm and race down the stairs, egging him on as she went. "If I get to school before you then you'll have to deal with Alya instead!"

That got him moving, and she could see a grin spreading across his face like wildfire at the last second before she rounded the corner, already on the second set of stairs and hearing his feet pounding on the landing above as she whipped past the kitchen almost knocking her maman on the way, shouting a quick apology over her shoulder to a surprised giggle and continuing along the way. Seconds later hearing the same thing happen in a distinctly male voice, with what seemed to be a fair few more apologies.

Cutting across the bakery floor instead of going out of the main door to save time, it wasn't long before Marinette was out the door, whipping off to the left with the school in her sights almost immediately already swarming with students ready for their school day. It really was sometimes a blessing that she lived so close to it, and the distance only served as a means to increase her speed through motivation. It was literally across the street she could do this. She heard Adrien behind her slamming the door open followed by her dads deep laughter and knew he would be gaining on her, putting on a burst of speed that she would be proud of even as ladybug and not giving herself the temptation to glance back she made a final mad dash for the main steps. I'm going to make it. Only a few meters left-

Then her mind went blank as Marinette looked forward towards her destination. Alya was standing right there. Her arms were crossed and her hip cocked. Right in her path and about to be plowed into at high velocity. Marinette stopped as quickly as she could, stumbling forward dramatically and watching Alya's face distort from the look of an unimpressed friend to one of concern, and gradually fear as they got closer together. When they were barely a mere meter apart she felt her saving grace wrap his fingers around her wrist, effectively stopping the out of control wreck that was about to happen and spinning her back into his arms once again.

"You really are very clumsy did you know that?" His voice was laced with humor and she could tell that he would look very smug if she looked up so decided vehemently against it. Instead crossing her arms and pouting as he let go of her, happy enough that she was steady again. Looking back at Alya she smiled though, seeing exactly where she had started her flailing to stop and knowing what it meant, this did prompt her to look up at the gloating face of her crush.

"I still won the race you know Kitty" His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to object, but a quick glance around and he must have discovered she was correct. He shook his head scowling and swore under his breath, causing her to giggle. She watched him swallow nervously, glancing between her and off to one side where Alya was still standing with her hands on her hips and a look that could kill. His eyes pleaded with her in non-verbal communication. Micro-expressions crossing his face as he obviously worked his way through the conversation he was about to have preemptively in his head.

 _Please don't make me do this, im begging you!_ She giggled again, shaking her head towards his plea.

 _Maybe if you had run a bit faster eh kitten~?_ He frowned, pouting now.

 _You are cruel, so mean Marinette._ He moved his head now, turning it to take in her best friend, who's face was becoming more dumbfounded by the second, before painstakingly slowly turning to face her properly, gulping down an air of terror that he had developed about him and rubbing the back of his head in a gesture of awkwardness that Marinette was slowly becoming much more accustomed to. All dressed up in the new clothes that Marinette just _knew_ Alya would recognize from her sketches, there was absolutely no hiding that. The thought made her blush a bit. This was a bad idea.

"Um..." The glare on him sharpened as he spoke, Alya has targeted her victim. Engaging. He offered the same sort of forced wave he had given her the morning Alya pushed her out in front of him to give him the scarf "Hi Alya I uh... Guess we have some... explaining to do, huh?"

And that was it, her bestie was battering her crush with questions faster than he could blink and with more journalistic professionalism than she thought he expected. She half expected to see some sort of health bar over his head dropping lower and lower, until the invisible bar hit empty and he began to sag under the weight of it all.

He had been slain. And, she supposed, it must be time for a healer to come along and save him from himself

So she braced herself, steeled herself mentally, erased anything that could have revealed her identity from slipping off of her tongue and stepped between the two, effectively stopping them in their tracks and ready to take on the world.

And she would have taken on the world if not for the very next question, the joy and vindictiveness of the question reflected in her friends eyes along with (what she hoped) was a proud smile. Marinette was shaking her head before the question left her lips, but it was too late.

"So when did you two start going out then huh? I want the details!"

And the world went still.

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Sorry this chapter isnt as long as the other new ones, I hope it is still up to scratch, im still having trouble writing at the moment but I couldnt let the chapter sit on my computer and rot.

See you all soon ~ _ **Midnight**_


	12. Just the start of another day at school

Sorry for the wait guys, its taken me a while to get back into writing again so im hoping that this chapter lives up to the standard ive hopefully set for myself, if not, leave a message after the beep? I don't know. I went to MCM in London this saturday as Adrien and the amount of people that recognised me was phenominal, i'd love to do it all the time. If anyone was there at the meetup, i'm the Adrien you all picked up in the group photo with the cat ears!~ _ **Midnight**_

* * *

"So when did you two start going out then huh? I want the details!"

He stared at Alya, blinking, knowing that his mouth was forming a small round 'o' although he wasn't sure if it was because he had no idea what to say or whether it was the sheer suddenness of the question.

If he wasn't so caught off guard he might have laughed at the odd color Marinette turned when she heard it, thinking about it later he supposed it could possibly be described as Gryffindor scarlet, It was without doubt adorable.

He could see the gleam in Alya's eyes and he knew what it meant, or at least he thought he knew. Either she was teasing them both in such an embarrassing fashion that only a good friend could probably pull off, or she had noticed the way he had been looking at her yesterday and this morning and was testing him. He wasn't sure which one was the more horrifying option.

On one hand he could reject the idea outright, because no, they aren't going out. But some part of him maybe wanted to... see how this went? Maybe if he just gave evasive answers without a direct answer then it would be enough. The Chat side of him however wanted to stake a preemptive claim on Marinette, just outright say they started dating yesterday and hope to all hell and back that his sweet little princess didnt object to the idea at all and just went along with it. He couldn't do that though, because it still kinda felt like he would be cheating on Ladybug, even if there was nothing to cheat on.

He was halfway through opening his mouth to respond with some sort of awkward denial, watching Marinette do the same thing out of the corner of his eye, when another voice joined the fray.

"Come on Wifi, leave those two alone will ya?"

Nino came strolling towards them, one hand taking his headphones off to put them around his neck where they normally stayed like a permanent feature, obviously having been listening to something on the way to school. He had a sort of self satisfied smile on his face like he knew everything in the world, one that Adrien had grown to be wary of at some points and grateful for at others, today he was grateful.

Alya groaned, the gleam diminishing to one of... possible adoration? He filed that away for later analysis and watched them, stepping forward to stand properly next to Mari as they both watched the interaction between the other two.

"Oh come on Bubbles, you never let me have any fun" Adrien turned to look at the beautiful girl beside him just as she did the same to him, frowning and mouthing 'Bubbles?' to each other in confusion, and then his frown worked deeper as he added to it, next mouthing out 'And Wifi...?'

He could see the cogs in her head turning for a minute, trying to place the very familiar new monikers as he stared blankly at her waiting for the answer, before her face cleared like a light had turned on behind those too blue eyes. He watched her turn to their friends with a strange look on her face, halfway between amusement and semi disgust, interrupting their mock bickering.

"Really guys? Akuma nicknames?" **Of course!** Now he knew why it sounded so damn familiar, he couldn't help a sort of muffled chuckle slip out, but it quickly faded when he watched Alya and Nino's faces warp suddenly into truly sadistic smirks. It was Nino who spoke first

"Oh? Not to your taste My Lady~?" Adrien couldn't help laughing properly this time as his princess flushed a deep scarlet yet again, but abruptly stopped when Alya decided to turn her smirk in his direction.

"And you Kitten? What do you think about them?" Now it was his turn to join Marinette in blushing, holding his hands up in a show of defeat and smiling sheepishly.

"Ahh haha OK I guess we really don't have any right to judge do we so maybe if we just call this even...?" Alya raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms and a hip cocked itself. The very picture of 'Boy we are so not done with this' and it filled him with absolute terror. But instead of continuing, she just smiled and shook her head, relaxing from her pose and moving forward to envelop Marinette in a hug, laughing as she did.

"Alright alright i'll stop teasing, I know Mari would have told me if you guys were dating anyway, I just wanted to get revenge for the detention you caused! We are sticking with the nicknames though" Adrien noticed her dip her mouth to Marinettes ear quickly and his eyes narrowed as she whispered something too quiet for even him to hear so close, making the princess flush once again in what he can only guess was embarrassment? He didnt have time to think about what she could have been saying before a high pitched squeal met his ears, getting louder, coming in his direction. He could see Nino frown ever so slightly and knew exactly who was on their way over. Although he had graciously put up with her obsessiveness most of the time, Nino still really didnt like Chloe, and it was very obvious.

"Adrieeeeeeeeeen sweetie turn around!" A quick glance to his left showed Alya and Marinette with identical looks of disgruntlement, but he could also see the mischievous gleam in Mari's eyes and her anticipation to what was about to come next, he shot his best Cheshire grin towards her completely baffling Alya once again in the process before turning to face his first friend and her 'bestie', grin replaced with the polite smile he used at modelling shows.

"Morning Chlo, how are you?" He saw Marinette cringe slightly at the nickname he had used for her since he was little and he forced down a chuckle. It was a bit cringe-worthy now that he was older and not really spending all that much time around her, but the nostalgia that came along with it was worth it. Chloe sighed loudly, doing a marvelous impression of someone that had been wronged at every turn of her life, shooting small glares towards his small group before charging into a story she quite obviously wanted to share with the whole damn world. He forced down an eye roll as she started.

"Oh ADRIEN I had the worst morning ever can you believe that Daddy got me a gold iPhone instead of a rose gold one? I cant believe he would get the two mixed up I-" She cut herself off, giving him an intense look up and down before stalking around him, hand on her chin. It was a look he had seen many times before, and normally preceded questions or demands much in the way of "Daddy buy this for me" or "Give me that." She smiled hugely, clapping her hands together. He knew what was coming next and couldn't help but smirk slightly, deciding to get see what she would say before he told her who had made his clothes for today.

"Oh my god Adrien that outfit is soooo you! When did you get it? I've never seen it before" He smiled, looking down at himself and holding his arms out to subtly display it a little more, pretending to be sort of self conscious about it.

"You like it? I only got it this morning. Wasn't sure if I should wear it to school or not 'cause I didnt wanna ruin it"

"Like it? I LOVE it Adrien! It suits you so much! Does it have ladies range too or...?" She cocked her head, finger on her lip and he pretended to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry Chloe you'd actually have to ask the designer herself, this was made specially for me"She had the expected reaction, a small frown that lasted a fraction of a second followed by her very best 'Of course they would im the daughter of the Mayor' smile, walking towards him pretending to smooth down a crease on the waistcoat that really wasn't there at all, she always seemed to use any excuse to touch him. He perked up a bit when he heard an even lower rumble replace the soft giggles he had heard before, was... was Marinette actually...? Growling? Well, he supposed, she had put an awful lot of work into this particular outfit for the class bully to be putting her hands all over it. His earlier smirk started to creep through as he took Chloe's hands and lowered them away from himself receiving a small petulant pout from her before she pushed on.

"I'm sure it can be arranged cant it? _**No** _ designer in Paris would refuse _**my** _ patronage, they would have to be stupid" He found himself holding back a small growl of his own at the dig she had unknowingly sent in Marinettes direction but managed to keep his cool.

"I don't know... She isnt all that well known in the fashion industry yet, but my father sees great things for her future" The growling replaced itself once more with a soft gasp. It was true to an extent, his father really was very interested in the style of clothing Marinette had displayed in the hat competition, he just hadn't seen this particular outfit yet. Adrien wondered if he would even be at home TO see it when he returned that afternoon. Probably not. He smiled a bit more sincerely, expanding on his earlier statement.  
"In fact I think she may actually be my favorite designer , maybe I want to keep her all to myself for now, monopolize all of her talents"

He He could tell by the way the line as forming in the middle of her impeccably, routinely moisturized and made up forehead that she wasn't going to buy that, or at least was going to push him more for it. She wasn't used to hearing no but she couldn't upset him too much just because of the power his father had over his particular industry, not that he would ever care enough to do it but one word from him and that was half of Paris's revenue shifted in a new direction because he really did have his fingers in every pie imaginable. Fashion, perfume, jewelry. You name it, there is a version with the 'Gabriel' brand plastered on it.

"Come on Adrikins you've always shared before, it only makes me want those designs moooooore now that you seem so interested in them" He tried not to visibly show the shudder that went through him when she said that, he really hated that nickname with a passion. It was so horrendously false sounding from her mouth. Making a big show of sighing as if in defeat, instead of telling her a name which she obviously expected, he actually turned his head to look over his shoulder towards his princess. She had such a cat that caught the canary grin that it would take a true fool to not realize who he had been talking about, then again Chloe never had liked her so she probably wasn't even looking in her direction. He smirked, tilting his head to the side in question whilst the 'poor girl' in front of him looked on in confusion and not a little bit of annoyance and jealousy.

"What do you think? Think you could knock something up?" He watched in satisfaction as she raised her hand to her chin, giving the other girl the professional looking run down of measurements she had given him earlier, but he could tell she wasn't serious about it this time by the smile that reached her eyes. Having seen it once before he knew the difference between what he might call from now on 'designer mode' and her having a bit of fun teasing. She walked forward to stand next to him.

"I don't know _Adrikins_ , i'd have to do a few sketches first, and it would need to be a lighter material than yours... I'm thinking something bee themed?" He could hear Chloe spluttering behind him obviously struggling to make much sense of the situation, he continued to ignore it for now, instead reacting to Marinettes playful suggestion.

"Bee huh?" He nodded, closing his eyes as if picturing it. "I can certainly see it, the color scheme matches with all the black and yellow-" He was interrupted by a short squeal of indignation.

"I'm not wearing anything made by her! What is the meaning of this?!" He raised his eyebrows, cracking one eye open to look at the tiny little ball of fury he had just induced.

"But you said you really wanted some of these designs, I just went straight to the source instead of giving your her name that's all" He frowned, crossing his arms and peering at her, she really wouldn't wear anything made by Marinette? Where was the source of all this completely unfounded animosity, its not like the princess was unlikable in any way  
"What is so bad about Marinette anyway Chloe, you seemed quite happy about them a minute ago" He could hear Plagg inside his bag, quietly laughing up a storm from what he could hear.

She didnt even seem to want to bother answering him, instead fuming to herself for a moment before turning a complete 180 and grabbing Sabrina by the wrist, dragging her off towards the entrance of the school. Adrien frowned even more and made to follow her, suddenly greatly interested in what would set Chloe off so badly, but he felt a soft hand on his arm retraining him. Turning his head to look, he saw Marinette shaking her head with a small smile on her face and he relaxed into it a little.

"Don't worry about it Adrien, she has always been like that towards me, I've stopped trying to understand" she chuckled a little bit,looking up towards the door herself before turning back for the three of them.  
"Come on, lessons will start soon anyway, you guys all coming or what?" They shrugged and moved towards the door themselves as she pulled on his arm gently, he still wanted to know the reason behind the hate there,but it didnt look like Marinette would be giving that up any time soon so he calmed himself a little, shaking his head of the thought and compliantly let her lead him towards their first lesson, science.  
He had always been quite good with science, especially physics, which is what he hoped would be the topic today. He was hoping to grab Mari as his partner if they were doing anything practical but he wasn't holding his breath. Alya was quite possessive after all.

They all made their way towards the classroom speculating what was going to be on the agenda today with Ms Mendeleev, she was known for her fairly random choice of topics so it really was up in the air as to what they would be learning about. As long as she vaguely stuck to the syllabus the school board wasn't too worried about it. They continued up the stairs, Marinette still loosely holding onto his arm where she had guided him earlier and it just made him hope all the more that they would have the time in lesson to just have fun with something. It didnt look like things were going to go Adrien's way this time though, as the desks were all separated with single sheets of paper laying on them. A test.

A collective groan could be heard issued by those that reached the door first, travelling down the corridor to the rest of them to convey the message. This was the third pop quiz style test she'd pulled this month and absolutely nobody was impressed, but they just had to put up with it. He sighed when she let go of his arm to go and sit in her seat on one of the separate desks shooting him an apologetic glance, and silence commenced.

It was a long hour.

Every so often he would glance back to see what sort of face she was pulling, it was slowly becoming a favorite game of his because she obviously was not a science fan and some of the expressions that crossed her face were absolutely hilarious. . There was all sorts of frustrated expressions thrown in there, a few confused ones, maybe the odd moment of triumph. The last face she pulled when the timer bell rang for the end of the damned thing made his heart stop though.

Complete relief made her look like she had avoided something absolutely catastrophic and come out smiling on the other side. He could see it wash over her quietly but the change in her features was intense. He himself had absolutely blitzed the test, he had been home schooled after all, and all that lack of social interaction and a proper friend structure had to be good for something.

He stretched, closing his eyes for a brief moment to relax a bit, he really did have it bad if he couldn't even last the length of a test to even glance at her let along anything else. It cast him back to last night though with his Lady, the deal they had made. He wanted so badly to know who she was, but had given her a free pass should she decide not to reveal herself. That made him anxious beyond belief thinking about, because all he wanted to do was reveal himself to her and have her accept him for who he was, but to also know her as well. But the chance was there now that he never would and that was a terrifying thought.  
What he wouldn't give to find out that Marinette was Ladybug. That he hadn't been so fickle as to fall for every strong willed girl with pigtails and the most stunning blue eyes... Maybe Chat Noir could pay her a visit some time...? But no, he wouldn't push the situation, god knows he would only screw it up.  
Sighing, he was about to put his stuff back in his bag when he heard a loud thud from the back of the room and Ms Mendeleev's scratchy tones reached his ears, after all this time he almost expected them to perk up at the noise like his other ones did.

"Whats this?!" He turned unsure what to expect at the back of the classroom, but all he encountered was a sleepy looking Nathanael lifting his head from the desk in surprise, the test he'd just taken covered in doodles. Adrien shook his head, he was always drawing on his stuff, looks like he just pulled her last straw though.

"Its just a few drawings... I finished early so I thought i'd pass the time...I didnt mean to fall asleep..." Luck really didnt seem to be in his favor though today, as Chloe who was sat on the next desk over for her test, well separated from anybody that would willingly slip her the answers, lent over to take a look and started full on laughing.

"Oh my actual god is that **you** and **Marinette**?! What a loser! Who would ever fancy _her_?"

He was sure that if anybody was looking at him then they would have seen all the color draining from his face at those words. Nathanael fancied his Princess? **HIS** Princess?

There was a moment of blinding jealousy before he realized that actually, Marinette wasn't his. Not in the slightest. At the most they were now friends. At the very least he had pushed his way into her friend circle by force. He had absolutely no claim over her whatsoever. And whilst that was infuriating, he scolded himself for it. She wasn't something to be owned she was a person. And really, Nath was a nice guy, probably much better suited for her than he was too. They both were artistic in nature so they would probably understand a lot more about each other from that respective point of view too. It would actually probably make much more sense actually than Marinette liking such an awkwardly stupid guy like himself.

He was incredibly furious with Chloe for her words as well. _**HE** Fancied Marinette_. _**NINO** had fancied Marinette._ Hell he was half sure everybody must have had a crush on her at one point so he shouldn't have really been surprised at Nathanael's either. There did she get off on such a ridiculously unfounded comment like that? And he could tell by the mumble that swept the room that he wasn't the only one thinking it either.

He glanced in her direction again to find her expression was half frozen between shock and anger. The anger probably had to do with Chloe really, the shock was probably reserved for Nathanael. But before long it settled into a casual acceptance that he really didnt like. It was the kind of face you pull just after you accept that someone has died and you are never going to see them again, it made him uncomfortable and really didnt sit right. Something terribly wrong had just become a conclusion to an something he didnt know if she had ever asked herself and he had no idea what that question was. But he had the sneaking suspicion that it was going to cause trouble.

Lots and lots of trouble.

* * *

Once again sorry for the stupidly long hiatus I unintentionally put this story on, I just couldn't write for the life of me. I hope this isnt too bad and I will see you in the next chapter ~ _ **Midnight**_


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